For the Dancing and the Dreaming
by animefan021513
Summary: Sandy happens upon a murdered woman being turned into a spirit and Manny charges him with her care. What will happen between the two? How is it they have the same powers? What's this about a heart song festival? Where does Pitch fit in all of this? READ AND FIND OUT! Please?
1. Chapter 1

**_As Sandy is going about his normal route, he witnesses a woman get murdered by another woman. Almost immediately after the murderer runs away, Sandy witnesses Manny change the murdered woman into a spirit and then charges him with her care and training, telling her to take her to the North Pole to give her a home, and then he doesn't say anything else. What happened to the new spirit? Will she be made a Guardian? What happens when she can understand Sandy, and is also mute when she wakes up? What happens when Sandy discovers that she has powers similar to his? What kind of relationship will blossom between the two, and what's this about finding a heart song? READ AND FIND OUT!_**

Sandy was just leaving North Texas and was making his way to South Texas, after delivering dreams when he suddenly heard someone talking. _'It's midnight...who in their right mind would be out this late?' _He then took a moment to chuckle to himself and roll his eyes. _'You of course...'_ He told himself.

"So, no hard feelings then?" A young woman's voice asked, and Sandy instantly got a bad feeling within his sand, and just like North and his belly, the bad feelings were never wrong. He peeked over the edge of his sand cloud and realized there were two women walking through a walking trail. He got a little closer, assuming that since they seemed to be in their early twenties that they couldn't see him. The woman with the medium length, ash blonde hair that cascaded just below her shoulder line, shook her head. "That's good. So you don't mind if I date your ex then?" The woman with the short brunette pixie cut hair asked with what sandy felt was an evil look in her eyes. The other woman looked at her with wide eyes and seemed about to say something when the one with the pixie cut let out a dismissive sigh. "That's just too bad then..." She trailed off and suddenly pulled out a knife and slashed at the woman's throat, and then cut her in several other places. "You were a fool to let go of such a man, and this is payback for stealing him before I could ask him out!" Then, the woman ran, leaving the blonde in the dirt.

Sandy had seen many things throughout his long life. Murder was one of them. He didn't like the fact that he wasn't shocked to see such an atrocious act committed right before his eyes, but he's seen people do worse for less. Just as he was about to sigh in silence and fly off, he quickly noticed one of Manny's moon beams shine on her. _'No way!'_ He shouted internally, and immediately got closer to her, stepping off his cloud.

The woman's wounds healed, but just barely, then Sandy heard the all too familiar voice of Manny ring through his ears. _"Sandy, I'm glad you were the one to fly by this horrible incident. She is a good person, truly, and even though she was in her early twenties, she still believed in you and the other Guardians. However, she couldn't see you, due to the...conversation...they were having. Take her to the North Pole and have her looked after. Give her a place to stay. She deserves that much at least. Especially for holding onto belief for this long...and Sandy...I want YOU to be the one to look after her and guide her to be a good spirit. Help her grow into her powers."_

Sandy had furious symbols flying overhead._ "Is she going to be made a Guardian? If you knew this was going to happen, why didn't you ask me to stop it!?"_

_"I didn't know it was going to happen, just that something bad would happen. That could've meant any number of things, and as far as being made a Guardian...time will tell."_

_"You're as cryptic as ever." _Sandy said with his symbols, knowing he wasn't going to get an answer back. The woman stirred and groaned in pain, and Sandy watched in awe as Manny changed her ash blonde hair a royal purple, and her skin turned a slightly lighter shade. _"Right...let's get you to North."_ He said as he made a dream cloud underneath her, and made his way to the North Pole.

Once he got there, he immediately went to North's office where he knew he would be in the middle of summer. _"North! We have a situation."_ He said with his symbols, showing three explanation points.

"Sandy what is wrong?" North asked as he got up from his chair.

_"Manny brought this woman back as a spirit and told me to bring her here to get healed, and he wanted us to look after her, and give her a place to stay."_

"Is she to be a new Guardian?" North questioned as he looked at her resting form on the sand cloud, and immediately noticed the horrible wounds. "Sandy, what happened?"

_"Manny said as far as being made a Guardian went...only time will tell, and...well...I was floating by when I witnessed her get murdered by someone she knew."_

"That's awful!"

_"I know...but North...she's in her early twenties and she still believes in us. Manny said so."_

"She is special indeed. Come, we will treat wounds. I will send elf to Tooth, Bunny, and have Tooth send Baby Tooth to find Jack, and explain situation."

_"That would be a good idea."_ Sandy followed North to the medical wing of the North Pole as he kept an eye on the woman on his sand cloud. He made a point to notice her features in case she doesn't eat, or her muscles start to fail. The first few years as a spirit were always the most difficult for one reason or the other. He noticed that her face was round, and although it held adult features it was also childlike. He then noticed that she wasn't thin, but she wasn't overly plump either. She was in an in between area that suited her well, and she seemed to still be healthy with strong leg and arm muscles. Well, as healthy as someone could be after being murdered, brought back as a spirit, and unconscious on a dream sand cloud. Sandy had to admit to himself that he found her features to be a bit cute. Not like a child was cute, but a cute that suited an adult woman.

Once they got to the medical wing, Sandy descended her down onto one of the beds that North pointed at, and allowed his dream sand to sink back into his own cloud. However, once he removed his sand she began to groan in pain. "I'll have to examine the wounds, Sandy. Don't you need to deliver dream sand to children?"

Sandy looked at her hesitantly and let out a silent sigh as he looked back up at North. "I'll come back after I finish with the rest of North America. You do know that sometimes good dreams happen on their own right?"

"Yes, but their good dreams are best and leave no chance to turn into bad dreams if you're there. Go...I'll let you know what I find when you return." Sandy nodded and made his way to North America to finish up with the other southern states.

_**oOoOoOoOo**_

As he finished with Florida, Sandy couldn't help but think about that woman. So many questions were rushing through his mind. _'What had happened that led up to murder? What man were they talking about? Was it a betrayal of friendship? If so, what kind of friends were they? What kind of spirit would she be? What powers would she have? What would her limits be? How would she react to being at the North Pole? How would she react when she woke up? What would she say?'_ The thoughts repeated many times over, until he eventually found himself back at the North Pole. He rushed to the medical wing where North was waiting for him by the woman's side. _"Has she woken up yet?"_ Sandy asked with concerned symbols above his head.

"No she hasn't, but I have healed her wounds, and stitched them up as best I could, but Sandy...When she was cut across the throat...her larynx was damaged...her vocal chords. I can not tell if it is permanent or temporary, but what I do know, is that she won't be able to speak when she wakes."

_"That's...that's awful!"_

"You seem truly angry..." North trailed off in surprise at Sandy's reaction as the golden man's eyes turned furiously fierce.

_"Of course I am! That's an awful thing to do to someone! I'm mute, North! You can't imagine how frustrating it is to try and determine what symbols to use, and although Jack was a very quick learner, being able to decipher the symbols and their sizes for what I was saying and how I was saying it...it took him a little less than a year...but it took you, Tooth, and Bunny much much longer than that! Now, she has to go through the same problem of not being understood. She'll likely have to write down everything."_

"Yes...she will need to write down stuff...I have gathered together many notebook spirals and many more pens for her to use."

Sandy shook his head as he looked at her sadly. _"Do you know when she will wake?"_

"Shouldn't be too long now." North said, and right at his words, the woman began to stir. "See?" North questioned as Sandy rushed to her side.

She tried to speak, but she couldn't. All that came out was a slight groan in pain. Her eyes shot wide open, and once Sandy saw them, his own widened as well. Her eyes were a deep red. Practically crimson, but not quite there at the same time. Without thinking, Sandy instantly made symbols appear. _"Are you alright? How are you feeling?"_ As soon as the symbols fell, he felt like a bit of a fool for thinking that she would understand, but then her eyes went straight to him.

She looked around and noticed there was a notebook and pen next to her bed. She immediately picked it up and wrote in it, then she turned it to him. _**"I'm not alright, I hurt all over! I'm thirsty, and hungry, and...the last thing I remember was...well...I'm pretty sure I'm dead, but...where am I?"**_

Sandy's jaw dropped slight as he carefully displayed the next symbols. _"You can understand me?"_

She nodded her head and began writing again. _**"Yes, I can understand you. Although, it's a bit strange. It's like your voice is going into my mind when you hold up those tiny images. Now...I'm a bit frightened...can you tell me what happened and where I am?"**_

_"Oh! Right...well, you um...you did die. You were murdered...I witnessed it, but then the Man in the Moon brought you back as a spirit. You're not dead anymore, but you were. The Man in the Moon, also known as Manny, asked me to bring you here to be healed, looked after, and to be given a home."_

**_"Okay, and where is 'here' exactly?"_**

_"Ah, well...the North Pole."_ He answered honestly, and he looked at North who was completely stunned that the woman could understand Sandy, and that they were having a silent, yet full blown conversation. _"That's Nicholas St. North...but you would more than likely know him as Santa Clause."_

A small smile played at her lips as her eyes shone with fascination while she frantically wrote in her notebook. _**"You can't be serious! I mean...I know I was a bit of a child by still believing in Santa at the age of twenty-three, but still...this can't really be the North Pole. This has to be a crazy dream or something. I mean...I can certainly tell I'm a spirit...I do clearly remember dying, and I feel different...but the North Pole? I thought...well...isn't it just for children? I was beginning to think it wasn't real myself...but now you're saying I'm here...and that the big man over there is Santa Clause!?"**_

Sandy gave her a soft smile and nodded his head. _"Yes, that's who you know to be Santa, but the rest of us spirits just call him North. You're really and truly at the North Pole, and as far as it being a dream..."_ Sandy laughed internally, and apparently she could hear it because her smile widened slightly. _"...well...I'm known as Sandy, but you would likely know me as The Sandman. So, I can promise you, this is most certainly not a dream."_

_**"You're telling the truth...I can tell. I'm good at telling when someone is lying to me. So...if that's Santa...erm...North...and you're the Sandman...then, are the others real too?"**_

_"Depends on what you mean by others."_

_**"Tooth Fairy?" **_She questioned and Sandy nodded with another soft smile._**"The Easter Bunny?" **_

_"Yes, but we all just call him Bunny."_

**_"What about Jack Frost?"_**

_"You believe in Jack Frost?" _Sandy asked, slightly taken back by the question.

**_"Well...yeah. There's a song that has a line saying, 'Jack Frost nipping at your nose.' Even legends have some small shred of truth. At least, that's what I've always believed."_**

_"You're quite interesting...but yes, Jack Frost is real. Jack, Bunny, Tooth, North, and myself...we make up a group of spirits called The Guardians of Childhood. There are of course many many other spirits, but we look after the safety of all of the children in the world. We all have our own individual traits that look after the children. Tooth protects their memories, North protects their sense of Wonder and Magic, Bunny protects their Hope, Jack protects their Joy, and I protect their dreams. Together we work on protecting everything at once, but most of the time we do our jobs individually." _Once he was finished explaining and noticed her wide eyed and surprised expression, he quickly remembered that she said she was thirsty and hungry. He turned to North and quickly asked,_ "Can you get her a glass of water and something to eat please? Not cookies...soup or something."_

"Yeah, of course. I will have yeti set up room for her as well." North said as he left the room with a still slightly stunned expression.

Sandy soon felt a tap on his shoulder and realized it was the woman. He looked down at the notebook she was showing him, and shook his head with a grin. **_"Why did North seem so surprised?"_**

_"Normally, the other spirits had to learn to understand me. Even Jack, who picked up quicker than the rest. You're the first to understand immediately."_

**_"Just another thing to add to the list of strange I've experienced in the past fifteen minutes." _**She showed Sandy, but then she had a look of shock like she forgot something and started writing again._**"I almost forgot! My name is...well it's a bit weird, and my father made it up, but my name is Magerina...(Mage-er-eena) but my friends just called me Mage. I prefer Mage. Oh...and Mage like a magic user. That's why I like it so much."**_

_"Mage it is then." _Sandy told her with a reassuring smile._ "You know...you seem to be taking all of this rather well."_

**_"Yeah, well...I can feel the stitches all over my body, and I'm suddenly not able to speak. I would like to think that a dream would be a lot more merciful than that, and besides...as imaginative as I am, I would never be able to imagine I would be healed at the North Pole in the presence of the Sandman and Santa Clause. So...all in all...this has to be real. That, and I know you're not lying. I can tell."_**

_"All good points, and yes, a dream would be much much more merciful. I'm so sorry."_

_**"It's not your fault. In fact, I should be thanking you and...what did you call him? Manny? I should be thanking the two of you. Besides...there wasn't much to my life anyhow."**_

_"What do you mean?"_ Sandy questioned sadly as his brow furrowed in concerned confusion.

_**"Well, I moved away from my family, and they didn't really keep in contact with me even though I tried...I was going to go to college to take up art classes...but that never happened...clearly... :/ but anyway, other than that...I only really had one other friend at work, and well...you saw how well that turned out. :( Not much of a friend. And Hey...just so I know...what year is it?"**_

_Sandy smiled at her fondly and let out a soft chuckle that only she could hear. "The year is still 2045..."_

Almost immediately she started shaking her head as she quickly scribbled, _**"2045!**_**_ YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!"_**

_"I am! I'm sorry! I couldn't help it! Seriously though, the year is still 2013, and it's still the end of January."_

_She scowled at him and crossed her arms before writing some more. **"You're mean...just kidding. I think I would've pulled the same joke. *Sigh* So what do we do now?"**_

Sandy read the small part that indicated a sigh, and couldn't help the amused chuckle that left his mind. No one either than her could hear it, but it was a good chuckle regardless. _"Now...we wait for North to bring you food and water, and then we are going to try to get you into a room."_

_**"Wait...am I going to be living at the North Pole?"**_

_"Seems like, Mage."_

_**"Will I have powers? O.o"**_

Sandy smiled at the face she drew and nodded his head. _"Every spirit has some kind of power. Mine is my dream sand, North...well...he learned magic when he was human, and it just got more powerful when he was made a spirit, so he has his mysterious magic, Bunny has Nature magic and knows some sorcery here and there, Tooth has the power of flight, but make no mistake, if she's in battle mode...those fast wings of hers become as sharp as ten thousand blades...only when she's in battle thought. Then, there's Jack. He is the spirit of Winter. Some of the other seasonal spirits say he IS winter, so there's that...but yeah you'll have powers and they'll be unique to only you."_

_**"That's awesome! When do I get to test it out!?"**_

_"Again...taking things rather well."_ Sandy told her as he raised a curious brow with a small smirk.

_**"Yeah well...I've always like the idea of having magic or some kind of powers. My mother used to say that my head spends more time in the clouds than the birds do."**_

_"Never a bad quality to have in my opinion..." _Sandy told her with a wide grin._ "...and it's good that you're taking this all as well as you are. The first few years of being a spirit are always the worst...but I guess the worst part for you will be your voice...again...I'm sorry..."_

_**"Why are you sorry? You've been kind to me."**_

_"Well...I'm mute. I know how frustrating it is to not have a voice."_

Mage gave him a confused expression as she slowly started writing. **_"But...I can hear you just fine. I can hear your laughter too."_**

_"Yes...YOU can...but everyone else...can't. They merely understand what my symbols mean. My symbols to them is like sign language for humans. They understand it, but there's no voice to it. I'm not sure why you can understand me, but I'm not going to even start complaining. Hey...how does my voice sound to you? I know what it sounds like to me...in my head...but what does it sound like to you?"_

She gave him a sly yet confident smirk as she quickly wrote, **_"Hmm...it__ sounds British, but not too dignified and not too unrefined either...a happy middle almost."_**

_"Good...not just me." _He laughed out.

After his 'words' they both heard the door open and turned to face it. "Tooth, Jack, and Bunny are here. They wish to meet her, and see how she is."

_"Will that be alright with you, Mage?"_ She quickly nodded and turned to North and nodded just as frantically, suddenly feeling a bout of excitement at getting to meet the others.

"Why do you hold up an image for Sorcerer?"

Mage waved her hand at North and got his attention and began writing. _**"That's because it's my name. My name is Mage."**_

"Oh, very unique name. That's a good name. I will go get others."

_**"Thank you."**_ She wrote quickly.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, you can come in. Just keep in mind. She can't speak, so she's having to write thoughts down." North told them and first it was Tooth who flew in as gently as she could before standing beside the bed.

"Hello, my name is Tooth. North tells us your name is Mage...like a magic user."

Mage smiled and nodded her head, and wrote in her notebook. **_"It is, and it's a pleasure to meet you."_**

"My goodness...so polite." Tooth said as she moved to the side a bit to allow Bunny in and for him to introduce himself.

Once Bunny walked in, Mage's eyes widened and her smile became wide as her eyes shone with excitement and awe. She immediately went to her notebook. _**"You must be the Easter Bunny! Wow! I wasn't expecting you to look like you do! This is far better than what I thought!"**_

Bunny read it, and started chuckling lightly, feeling a bit of pride swell in his chest. "Well what were ya expectin'?"

Her eyes went even wider if possible and she started writing down some more. _**"And your Australian! That's so amazing! Oh...and you talk! I was expecting I don't know...maybe an actual Bunny...but now that I think about it...that was rather foolish to think, and whatever else I thought...this is way better. Nice to meet you, Bunny!"**_

"Ha! Caught on my accent did ya? Nice to meet ya too. Where are ya from?"

_**"North Texas."**_

"Nice! Good folks, awesome forests, good BBQ, and laughing in the face of fierce weather phenomena. They just go out and plop a chair during tornado season."

"Bunny! That last part was a bit rude." Tooth scolded.

Mage shook in a small fit of silent giggles. She shook her head and wrote, **_"He's not wrong actually! We love our storms. There are those, like me, that really will go out and plop a chair out in the lawn and watch the weather go crazy. That's actually the way I put it too. I would tell my mom or dad...'Hey mom! It's a really windy day, I'm gonna go plop a chair out in the front lawn with some tea if ya need me.' Or 'Mom! Dad! Look at this! Look at the sky! That's so awesome! Look at the lightning! I'm gonna go outside!' At the very least...I know for a fact that I laugh at the dangerous weather. I enjoy it actually, and I know other Texans do too. Now, I can't speak for all of us, but I know me, my family, and a lot of my neighbors enjoy it. We also really like Barbecues! My family would Barbecue even if it was winter! Good food! I also really like the forests during the spring. Not because of the colors...just because it's peaceful and sounds beautiful during really windy days."_**

"Wow! You're serious?" Tooth asked and Mage nodded her head with a wide grin.

"Finally, someone that understands my love for Barbecues here and there throughout the year, forests, and thunderstorms."

"I thought you didn't like storms...and well you're a rabbit...you eat Barbecue?" North asked with a sly yet curious grin.

Mage shook her head and began writing again. _**"He probably doesn't like winter storms, but thunderstorms bring rain, rain brings water to plants, and plants start to grow. Sounds like something the Easter Bunny might like considering Easter is in spring. Besides, the light show is always nice."**_

"Alright...that makes sense..." North said and noticed a triumphant look on Bunny's face. "...but that doesn't mean the Barbecue thing makes sense! He's a rabbit...shouldn't he eat rabbit food?"

Another shake of her head and she looked up at Bunny, who seemed to be glad that someone understood. She set pen to paper, letting out silent chuckles. _**"You can Barbecue more than just meat. You can Barbecue bell peppers, Corn on the cob, Broccoli, Pineapples, and a bunch of other fruits and veggies."**_

"Oh...really? But...doesn't BBQ mean it has to have Barbecue sauce on it?"

_**"I'm not sure about the other southern states, but that's not how it is in Texas at least, and at the VERY least, it wasn't how I was brought up." **_

"That's not how it is for me either." Bunny said with a satisfied smirk.

Before Jack could say anything else, she quickly wrote out, _**"Barbecue just usually means you're going to put food on the grill, grill it, and then eat it...that's what it means when someone would say, 'We had Barbecue for dinner.' or 'We're gonna have a Barbecue.' At least, that's how I was brought up. Oh, and sometimes, you would grill it until you see it turn a bit black."**_

"What!? Why would anyone grill it until it's black!?" Tooth questioned with an astounded expression mixed with confusion.

"It sometimes just tastes better that way." Bunny told her.

Mage smiled wide, and quickly wrote, _**"I was just about to write the same thing, Bunny!"**_

"Glad to see someone understands." Bunny said with another satisfied smirk.

_**"I know! Hey, I've been to Australia before! It's so beautiful there! Not a big fan of the summers, but the summers in Texas are a bit alike. I guess I just don't like summer, but Australia was beautiful."**_

"Oh, I like this one!" Bunny laughed out and made way for Jack to come in.

Once Jack stepped in, he did so with his staff swung over his shoulder and a bit of a shy smile. "Always good to hear when people find something in common." Jack said as he walked closer to the bed. "Hey there, My name's Jack Frost."

Mage nodded with surprised eyes. _**"I've believed in you for a long time."** _She wrote and showed him, making his eyes go just as wide.

"You've...you've believed in me?"

**_"Yeah! I mean...the whole...'Jack Frost nipping at your nose' had to come from somewhere right? I doubt someone pulled it out of thin air. Even legends have shreds of truth, and I can see more than a shred. It's very nice to meet you, Jack Frost. My name is Mage."_**

"Very nice to meet you as well...although...I'm at a loss as to how I didn't know I had a believer. I thought Jamie was my first believer."

"Well, the rules stretch a bit as far as that's concerned, mate." Bunny started to explain. "All in all...he really and truly is your first believer, because he was the first one to call your name, hear ya, and see ya. She believed in ya, yeah, but that only goes so far. So don't worry. Jamie's still your first true believer."

"Oh, okay..." Jack nodded his head and smiled at Mage. "So, North explained the situation to us...and what happened. Are you alright?"

She sighed and started writing with a slight tilt of her head, and a slanted smile. _**"No, not really. This is all a bit new and strange to me, but I think I'll be okay. I'm sore all over, I can feel my stitches, and I'm still thirsty and hungry."**_

Not two seconds after Jack read that, Phil the yeti came in with a tray that had a bowl of hot soup and a glass of water. "Well, I think that answers your question." Jack told her. "So, do you know what you can do yet?"

_**"No, I was just made a spirit, and I haven't the faintest idea what I'm supposed to do."**_

"Ah, yeah...Manny did the same thing to me. I think it's his weird and twisted way of making us find ourselves."

_**"Did that work out for you?"**_

"Yeah...three hundred years later...but that was because I was on my own that entire time. I didn't seek help from anyone, and you...well, you have five Guardians willing to help you."

_**"Three hundred years!? That's a long time...well...I'm glad to have help then. Sandy's been kind, and so has North. Bunny seems interesting, but I think Tooth has been staring at my mouth since she flew in." **_Mage smiled as she wrote the last part down and showed it to Jack who laughed at it.

"More than likely." Jack said and handed her the notebook back. "Well, you and I will be able to get to know each other better later. It seems North put your room between mine and Sandy's."

Mage's eyebrows rose at that and turned to face Sandy. **_"Sandy, you live here too?"_**

_"Have for a while."_ He shrugged. _"I just haven't used my room much."_

_**"Huh...well, that's interesting...don't you ever sleep?"**_

_"Here and there..."_ He told her honestly with a soft smile. _"...but I don't really get that much rest, because I'm constantly delivering dreams. I move faster than people think. So, if I wanted to come here and rest, I could have anywhere from one to five hours of sleep if I wanted, which is more than enough for me."_

Mage nodded her head and faced the other Guardians who were stunned, except North who already witnessed her ability to communicate with Sandy. _**"What?"**_ She wrote out.

"You understood him?" Bunny asked cautiously.

_**"Yeah, apparently I can hear his voice too...even though he says he's the only one who's heard it."**_

The other Guardians' eyes widened even further, and a smirk found its way on Jack's face. "Well, then that is one power you have. No other spirit can perfectly understand Sandy other than you." Jack told her with a short laugh.

_**"Is that...strange?"**_

"No, every spirit has something unique about them. More unique than their powers. Mine is that I can understand Tooth's mini fairies. No one else can do that but the two of us. I can also speak yettish...which is the language of the yeti that work with North. It just makes us a bit more unique. That's all."

_**"Thank you. That makes me feel a bit better, and it's nice to know at least one of my powers."**_

"Glad to help. Now, we'll leave you alone to speak to Sandy about you becoming a spirit, and we'll leave you to eat."

"Awe, but..." Tooth started with a pout. Mage smirked at her and then smiled wide with her teeth. "AHHHH!" Tooth squealed in delight. "They're so clean, so sparkly, so white! Oh! So amazing." Mage closed her mouth and gave a small closed smile. "Thank you!" Tooth said as she spun in the air before leaving the room.

"Well, that should keep her off my teeth for now." Jack chuckled out. "Goodnight, Mage."

Mage waved at them as they left the room and she let out a silent sigh. Even though her eyes were closed, she could hear Sandy softly chuckle. _"They're a bit much sometimes."_ She nodded with a slight smile. _"Ah...so you can understand me without having to see my images. That makes things a lot easier."_

She nodded her head and started writing. **_"So, I can understand you and no one else can...I can hear your voice but no one else can...is this one of those...everything happens for a reason?"_**

_"I'm honestly not sure. Manny likes to be cryptic. Sometimes he does things out of the goodness of his heart, sometimes he has a reason. Now, I believe you were going to eat."_

**_"You're um...going to sit there and make sure I do...aren't you?"_**

_"Yes, I am...mainly because if you get sick I'll be able to get you something. With wounds as severe as yours...it's possible your stomach may be sensitive. That's why I asked North to bring you soup rather than cookies."_

**_"Will you eventually let me have one of North's cookies?" _**Once she knew he read it she held up her hands in a pleading fashion and put on her best pout face.

Sandy smiled at her and nodded his head._ "When you're fully or at least mostly healed...yes." _Mage nodded her head and set the notebook and pen back on the nightstand next to the medical bed, and Sandy brought the tray over to her. _"Can I ask you yes or no questions? It'll be like a fun game."_ Mage gave him a look before taking a bite of what looked like vegetable beef soup, and she pointed out the window, then rested her head on her hands, and drew a backwards question mark in the air. Sandy grinned at her version of images. _"I have about two hours before I have to go deliver dreams."_ Mage looked up at the ceiling like she was thinking, then she nodded her head, giving him the okay to ask questions.

_"Alright...first question...and this is just to get to know you...you don't have to answer...and if you don't want to answer...you can make an 'X' with your fingers...but other than that you can either nod or shake your head. Would that be fair?"_

She nodded her head with a small smile.

_"Good...alright...was that other woman your friend?"_

Mage gave a slow Nod as she took in a spoon full of soup, and silently sighed at the taste.

_"Okay...did you ever trust her?"_

She hesitated for a moment and then shook her head.

_"Does it have something to do with that man she was talking about?"_

She gave a short nod and then gave an expression like she wanted to try something.

_"What's wrong?"_

She took in a big gulp of soup before trying it. She didn't know why she was nervous, but if it worked then it would save them both a lot of trouble. _'Sandy?'_ She thought in her head and Sandy visibly took a few steps back.

_"Y-You...you spoke to my mind! That's incredible, Mage!"_

_"So...it worked then?"_ She asked in her mind again.

_"Yes! I can hear you! Wow...not what I pictured your voice to sound like, but beautiful none the less."_

_"B-Beautiful?"_ She stuttered out in her mind.

_"Yes. It's a compliment, Mage."_

_"Oh, okay...then...may I ask how it's incredible?"_

_"You most certainly may! You see...only very powerful spirits can communicate telepathically. The only ones I know that wield such powers are Manny and Mother Nature. Well, now I know that you can as well, but that's amazing! Now...all we have to do is find out if it's limited to just me or if you can do it with the rest."_

_"It could be limited to just you?"_

_"Yes, there's that possibility. You are already able to hear my thoughts, so perhaps it is only limited to me, but we won't know until later. Alright...back to questions...and now I'm not limited to yes or no."_

_"No...I liked the game!"_

_"Oh..." _Sandy said with a smile._ "Alright then." _He made his sand cloud appear underneath him, and he sat comfortably on it as she continued to eat._ "Well then...Did the man the two of you talked about wrong you somehow?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Can you...you don't have to, but can I ask what happened?"_

_"Yes, you can ask." _She told him with a sly smirk as she set her spoon down.

He let out a silent chuckle and nodded his head._ "I should've seen that one coming. Alright...what happened between you and the man she was talking about?"_

_"Well...we had both admitted that we liked him...a lot, and she said she was planning on making a move on him, but that didn't work out. He asked me out, and I accepted without thinking. She found out and got mad at me. I honestly really liked the guy, and she knew, so really...I didn't know what her problem was. Then...a few months into my relationship with him...I caught her making out with him...and he was taking her top off. She saw me, had the nerve to look like the victim...him too! I broke up with him...didn't speak with her for about two months...then she wanted to confront me about the 'misunderstanding' and that she heard he wanted to take me back, and that he dumped her...and that's when she wanted to take a little stroll. Now I'm here."_

_"That's awful!"_

_"Nah, really? I hadn't noticed!" _She laughed out in her mind._ "So...any other questions other than how I got here?"_

_"Hmm...how about you ask me questions. You must still have some."_

_"Oh, I have plenty! However...I'm getting tired, and I'm still sore. I think I need to rest some."_

_"Would you like me to give you sweet dreams?"_

_"That would be nice."_

_"Alright..." _Sandy said as he pretended to crack his knuckles._ "...What'll ya have?"_

_"Hmm...dancing. I want to dream of dancing."_

_"Oh, that's interesting. May I ask why?"_

_"I've never gone dancing with anyone. I've never even danced by myself...It might be nice."_

_"You never...huh...well...one dance partner coming up. What would you like him to look like?"_

_"I don't know...I guess...if it's not too weird...you could be my dance partner."_

_"Y-You want t-to dream about m-me?" _Sandy questioned as nearly all of his composure twisted into shock and confusion.

_"Well, you've been nice to me, and besides...I've seen friends dance all the time. It doesn't really mean anything. Just dancing together as friends."_

_"People do that?"_

_"Yeah, lots of people."_

_"Huh...well...I'll admit...it's a bit strange that you want to dream about me...that's never happened before...but alright." _He shrugged as his composure came back, and he started to wonder why it had fallen so easily in the first place. It was probably due to the fact she was the first person that could understand him perfectly and that he had witnessed her becoming a spirit, but out of all of those reasons he couldn't really say which one was more true at that moment._ "Well then, Mage, one dream me with two left feet coming right up!"_ He took some of his dream sand and sprinkled it over her eyes, and quickly moved her food tray and empty water glass away from her as she passed back out onto the bed. He then watched with fascination as her dream floated above her head. She was wearing the clothes she already had on, and they were truly dancing like friends. They weren't even holding hands, just sort of swaying around each other and spinning around each other with smiling faces. '_How interesting...I'll ask her what she thought about it tomorrow.'_


	3. Chapter 3

The next day when Mage woke up, she noticed that she had been moved into a rather large and magnificent room. The walls were a beautiful shad of red, the corned held golden pillars that not only held the ceiling up, but seemed to spread out into branches of gold along the ceiling until the corners met in the middle and spiraled down into a chandelier. She looked down to the floor and noticed it was a remarkable solid silver that practically reflected her own face. She saw that there was a red rug on the left side of her bed that spiraled with golden thread that was as thick as a thin rope. She looked down at her bed spread that she was laying on, and noticed that someone neatly covered her up in satin and cotton fabric. The bed spread, like the room, was a beautiful blend of red and gold. She looked in front of her bed and noticed that there was a closet and a dresser, and next to that, slightly opened, was the bathroom that seemed to have everything made from marble on the inside. She looked to her right, seeing a flash of color next to her and noticed that her notebooks as well as her pens had made it with her, but there as also warm food on a tray. _'Well, if I didn't think I was in dream before...but all of this is way too far from my mind to make up...and the dream I really did have. It was fun and graceful...besides...if it was a dream, there would be no reason for the notebooks. I know that much at least.' _

Assuming that since they moved her to a room in her sleep, that she was allowed to roam around, she got up and walked over to the closet to see what would be in there, and was surprised to find that all the dresses she had ever simply wanted or wished for were in there waiting for her. _'Okay...magic closet. Now, let's just hope I don't take a trip to Narnia...' _She saw a sapphire blue dress that she really liked, and it was simple too. Something someone would wear to a park for a nice walk during the summer. She then looked at the bottom of the walk in closet and noticed that there were a beautiful black pair of flats that would go great with the dress. _'I think I'll save this for another day.'_ She thought to herself as she made her way to the dresser. _'Not what have you got?'_ She opened the drawers and found suitable underwear, tops that she liked, pants that she knew she wanted, but didn't or couldn't get, and in the bottom dresser there were three pairs of shoes. There was a pair of black and white sneakers, a black pair of sandals, and a comfortable looking pair of boots that had faux fur on the top of them. She quickly glanced in the mirror of her bathroom and stared in awe at her hair and eyes. She had always wanted to dye her hair a royal purple, but because of her parents and then because of work, she couldn't. Then, she looked closer at her eyes, and noticed how incredibly red they were. _'Huh, not vampire red, but almost...almost like a darker rose color.'_ She then looked back at the dresser and knew immediately what she was going to wear. She went to the dresser and pulled out a red set of underwear, a solid red short sleeved shirt, black pants, a pair of socks, and the black and white sneakers.

Once she was dressed, she grabbed a notebook pad and pen before she made her way out of the room, still feeling a bit sore. Once she was in the hallway, her eyes went wide almost immediately. To her right was a door that ended at the hallway, but to her left there was where the hallway opened up into what she could only describe as a palace. She left the hallway and looked up. There was a glass dome, and it was held together by beautiful and strong wood, and even stronger metal, but it was all painted so beautifully. She then heard bells sounding around her. When she looked at her feet, she wished she could squeal. _'Elves! The Elves are real too!'_ She looked at them, and they seemed to be examining her. Then, to her surprise, the elves seemed to look up at something and move away from her.

Curious, she looked up to where they were looking and saw a big furry creature come towards her. She took out her notebook and started writing. _**"I take it you're a yeti..."**_

The yeti smiled at her and motioned for her to give him the paper. _**"Yes, I am. There are thousands of us in here. We make the toys along with North...the elves...well...they're little noise makers, a bit silly, clumsy, not all that bright, enjoy stealing cookies and milk, and find new things fascinating. If they ever bother you, just find a yeti and tell them. All of the yeti can read and write in every language, but we can only speak our own language. My name is Phil."**_

_'Thanks!'_ She thought to him, and got no reaction. He was just standing there patiently. _'Can you not hear me speak to you with my mind?'_ Again nothing, so she took the pen and pressed it against paper._** "Thanks! That's awesome in all honesty and I kind of like the idea of yeti making toys. The elves always seemed too small to me...but they're still cute."**_ She gave him the notebook and he smiled.

_**"I guess they're cute in their own way, but sometimes they do get in the way. If you're looking for North I can take you to him. Right now he's having breakfast in the dining hall. He saved a spot for you in case you woke up and were still hungry and didn't notice the food in your room."**_

_**"I did notice...but I didn't eat it. I'm sorry...well, at least there's food for me in the dining hall! That would be great. Lead the way, Phil!" **_As she followed Phil down the large open hallway, she couldn't help but be in awe of everything. There were flying toys, floating lanterns, and even the air seemed to hold some kind of magic in it. Although, she wasn't really sure how she could sense such a thing, but it left her skin feeling comfortably warm. She also took note to notice all of the rather large bookshelves they were passing. _'Right...do I need to rethink about being in heaven too? There are books everywhere!'_

Once they arrived, Phil opened the door for her, and she immediately noticed all of the food on the hundred foot dining table. "Ah! Mage, you made it! I take it you liked your wardrobe?"

_**"I do, thank you."**_ She wrote out as soon as she sat next to North where the empty seat was being held for her. _**"This is a lot of food!"**_

"Yes! Yeti are good cooks! They also eat fast, so all of this food...they already had their share. The elves...they would rather eat cookies and drink eggnog."

_'I bet. Hey...can you hear me?'_ She tried again, but received nothing. Again. _'I guess it's only limited to Sandy...I should tell him that later.'_ She looked at her plate food and marveled at it. On the large plate were eggs, two pieces of bacon, three mini pancakes, a biscuit, and a sausage patty. _**"This is a lot for my plate. :) I may not be able to eat all of it."**_ She wrote, and showed North, then suddenly he started laughing.

"That is fine! Jack doesn't eat much either." She nodded her head and started on her food.

As she finished up her eggs she heard Sandy's voice. It was loud, clear, slightly panicked and concerned._ "Mage!? Mage where are you!"_

_"I'm in here Sandy!"_ She shouted with her mind as loud as she could as she looked to the door.

"Is something wrong, Mage?"

She quickly shook head and heard Sandy again. _"Where is here!?"_

_"Dining hall!"_

About two minutes later, Sandy came rushing into the dining hall. "Oh, Sandy, good of you to make it."

Symbols started flying over head as plopped on his cloud in relief, but his expression showed pure agitation. _"You nearly gave me a heart attack!"_ Sandy told her with a symbol of him and a broken heart.

"She broke your heart?" North asked a bit confused.

She shook her head at North and wrote down quickly, _**"He said I nearly gave him a heart attack."**_

_"Yes, you did...and YOU North! Why did no one tell me that she was already moved to her room? I saw no sign of her in the medical wing!"_

"Sorry, Sandy. We thought you would put two and two together."

_"Yeah, well, I didn't! Need I remind you that she is a new spirit!? She doesn't know the full capabilities of her powers yet, and they could be anything!"_

_"About that...I found out that the speaking my mind...literally...it only works on you. I tried it on Phil the Yeti, and just a few moments ago on North. Nothing happened...no reaction. So...looks like it's just you and me."_

_"Huh...good to know."_

"What is good to know?" North questioned, suddenly intrigued by Sandy's quick change in demeanor and it was directed at Mage.

Mage looked at North and then turned to the notebook. **_"Apparently, not only can I understand Sandy with or without symbols...but I can communicate with him through my own thoughts. It only works on him. I tried it on Phil the Yeti and then you, just moments ago."_**

North's eyes widened considerably as he gently picked up the notebook and re-read her words. "You...this means you are incredibly powerful spirit." He gave her back the notebook and watched as she began to write.

_**"That's what Sandy said. Apparently the only other ones that can do that are Manny and Mother Nature."**_

"He's right. No one else can do it. You are very unique indeed. Your powers will be different from average spirit."

_**"I thought every spirit was unique in their own way."**_

"They are, but usually there's something they hold similar...sort of like a class of spirits..." North started.

_"Mage..."_ Sandy trailed off, getting her attention. _"...it's like this...There are those like North, who learned magic as a human and later became a spirit and continued learning magic. There are those like Bunny who were born with their own abilities...although...Bunny is from another planet and..."_

_"The Easter Bunny's from another planet?"_

_"Yes, and that's a very long story for another time...anyway, there's also those that are like Jack and have a specific element. He's what's known as a seasonal and an elemental. A seasonal is exactly what it sounds like. They work in their season. An elemental has specific powers. Jack's element is Ice. The other elements are fire, water, earth, air, light, dark, life, and death. Those are the spiritual elements. Humans don't really acknowledge light, dark, life, and death as elements, but in our world...it is. Now, there's spirits like those, and there's spirits for every holiday you could think of."_

_"What about...What about me, Mother Nature, and Manny."_

_"Well, Manny is somewhat like me and he guards children's dreams and wishes. That's how I'm able to get some rest. He takes over for a bit. He also hears children's hopes and wishes from the balloons they lose."_

_"The balloons really make it to the moon!?"_

_"Yes and no. He sends a moon beam to collect the balloon, and then he gets it. Now, he can also, obviously, affect those on Earth. He can make them into spirits, alter their appearance, and give them powers, but he mostly brings forth a power that they naturally had that was hidden deep within. Mother Nature governs over all of the elemental and seasonal spirits. Now, under her rule their are kings and queens, but she is the ultimate authority as far as that's concerned, and in order to contact those she needs, she speaks with them telepathically. She can speak normally, but she mostly uses her mind. You...well, you can understand me...and you can speak to me with your mind. After that...we'll have to see."_

_"Alright...I'm sorry for scaring you."_

_"It's not a problem. It's mostly North's fault anyway."_ Sandy crossed his arms as he pointed a glare at North.

_"Hey, I'm done with breakfast, do you have time?"_

_"Yeah, it's why I came. I wanted to check on you."_

_"Awe, thank you!" _She told him as she hoped up and quickly wrote in her notebook.**_ "Sandy wanted to check on me and I'm done with breakfast...may I be excused?"_**

North bellowed a laugh. "Such manners! Of course you can. Go have fun."

Mage nodded her head and grabbed her notebook and pen as she followed Sandy out of the room. _"So..."_ She asked as they started walking down the hallway. _"...anything in particular you had planned today?"_

_"I thought perhaps we could talk some more. Do you want to sit by the fireplace?"_

_"Sounds great! Thank you." _She followed Sandy to the fireplace, and noticed that there was a lovely built in couch directly in front of one of the windows next to the fireplace. She sat on the couch and was surprised at just how comfortable it was. As she got comfortable she noticed that Sandy created a sand cloud in front of her, and sat on it. _"Alright, what did you want to talk about?"_


	4. Chapter 4

_"Well, for starters, how did you like your dream last night?"_ Sandy questioned, and for some reason he felt a bit awkward for asking, but he knew it was because it was the first time he was ever involved in someone's dreams in that way.

_"I enjoyed it. We were in a grand ballroom, and we didn't dance like a couple, but like friends. It was nice, and comforting. You make an excellent dance partner."_

_"Well, I'll thank you for such high praises, and I commend you for being able to dance with someone as short as me."_ Sandy told her with a small smirk, but it quickly faded, and Mage took notice.

She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and looked at him with a caring and concerned gaze. _"What's wrong, Sandy?"_

_"Nothing it's just...I feel sorry for you, and I don't like feeling sorry for you."_

_"Then don't."_ She said simply with a slight chuckle in her thoughts. Once he snapped his head up, she gave him a soft smile and a shake of her head. _"I told you...there wasn't much left for me in my life as a human anyway, and besides...this is all like a dream come true to me!"_

_"It...It is?"_ Sandy questioned as he noticed the genuineness in her voice. _"How?"_

For a few moments, Mage didn't want to answer. Her lips went into a flat line as she looked out the window and let out a silent sigh. _"I was always...kind of the odd ball in my family...like I already told you. However..."_ She turned to face Sandy once again, and he patiently sat on his cloud, with ever patient eyes, causing her to smile just a bit. _"...what I didn't tell you, is that I was always quite imaginative, and it's one of the reasons why I was going to school for art. I always passed my classes, but usually...my eyes would either be on a piece of paper as I drew something, or in a good book. If it wasn't there or in school work, I would often listen to music and daydream. Sometimes...my daydreams would take me to the most fantastical places. The same thing would happen if I were to walk in a forest without music. My head was always a bit up in the clouds. It's one of the things my parents didn't like too much. They wanted me to be more practical...but I couldn't...not in the way they wanted...and hey...I passed my classes, so I didn't really see the problem. Anyway, I still believed in Santa, you, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fair, Jack Frost, the Man in the Moon, and even the leprechaun...they thought it was a bit childish, but I didn't and it made me happy. Anyway...that's why I left. I wanted to go and be myself somewhere. Somewhere I didn't have to be as practical as they wanted, I could believe in what I wanted, I could daydream to my heart's content, and where...I could just be...and art college seemed the best bet. What makes this a dream come true is that this practically straight from one of my day dreams."_

_"What happened in your daydream?"_ Sandy asked in awe at her words. However, there was another voice in the back of his mind where his thoughts were kept and controlled, and the voice was screaming, _'How dare they try and conceal all of that Joy, Hope, Dreaming, and Wonder!?'_ Keeping his mouth from speaking his thoughts, he patiently waited for her answer.

_"Well...sometimes in my daydreams, I imagine what it might be like to meet all of the spirits I believed in. What it might be like to spend time with them, what Christmas at the North Pole might be like, what Jack Frost did and how he did it, what the Easter Bunny looked like, If the tooth fairy was really a fairy...other stuff like that...so yeah...it's a bit embarrassing to say...but that's the gist of it."_

_"Huh, well I'm flattered." _Sandy told her as he made a hat appear above his head and tipped it to her. The smile that appeared on her face even made her eyes smile and just for a second the sand faltered. Making the hat disappear he held a swirling ball of dream sand, thinking that perhaps she could see a little more of what he could do.

_"What are you doing with that? I don't want to go to sleep."_

_"Relax, I'm not trying to get you to go to sleep, Mage. Unless it gets in your eyes, you should be able to stay wide awake. However, if you touch it..." _He trailed off pushing the ball of sand closer to her. "...go on. It won't bite, I promise."

_"Hmm..."_ She reached out her hand to the ball and from it a flurry of small sand dragons appeared and started flying around her. _"That is amazing!"_ She shouted and saw the pleased look on Sandy's face. _"I wonder..."_ She hummed in her mind as she reached up to one of the dragons. She imagined it flying around her arm and resting on her hand, and that's exactly what it did. Then, she imagined that instead of a dragon, that it was a manta ray, and as soon as she imagined it, it transformed and started flying with the dragons. She watched in awe as it flew around her, but out of the corner of her eye she saw that Sandy was no longer sitting on his cloud, but he was standing, and seemingly completely dumbfounded and astounded. _"Sandy? What's wrong?"_

_"You...manipulated my sand..."_

_"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't even think to ask! I mean...has anyone ever done that before?"_

Sandy quickly shook his head and held up his hands to her._ "Don't be sorry, it's astounding, amazing, interesting, and remarkable. To answer your question though, yes, someone once manipulated my dream sand and that was last year close to Easter. It was when Jack Frost was revealed to be the next Guardian of Childhood...we fought against Pitch Black...the Boogeyman. However, he twisted and warped my dream sand and turned them into Nightmare horses that fed off of the good dreams of children and caused them to have nightmares. He also killed me, but when the other Guardians fought with the last light and his friends...I was able to come back. So...really...I never knew someone could manipulate my dreams sand without it being twisted."_

_"You died!?"_

_"Yes, but the children's bravery and belief turned the nightmare sand back into dream sand. It took a while, but it was enough to bring me back."_

_"Well, I'm glad you did." _She told him honestly and noticed that Sandy's eyes got wider._ "Came back that is...anyway...would this be considered a part of my powers?"_

_"It would have to. No one else can alter my dreams sand. Jack can touch it and make dolphins swim around him, but that's all he can do."_

_"So wait...what kind of power would I have if I can manipulate your dream sand? I mean, that's all great and good, and I'm glad I can, because frankly..." _She trailed off as a dream dragon rested on her hand. _"...this is amazing, but..."_ She told him as she looked at the dragon with a fond expression._ "But what I'm wondering is...how am I supposed to use that. I mean, I don't want to take your dream sand. I wouldn't want to take advantage of it."_

_"I wouldn't consider you taking advantage of it. I mean, it's not like you were doing what Pitch did. You kept it as dream sand and it made you happy. I couldn't ask for more. Now, as far as your powers go, you have only been a spirit for less than ten hours. You're not going to figure it all out in a day, but what you do figure out from here on, we'll figure it out together."_

Mage nodded her head and smiled. _"I would like that."_ She told him and then took the dragon resting on her hand._ "Sandy...what's your favorite animal?"_

_"A manta ray." _He said with a soft smile as he watched the manta ray that was still flying around her head.

_"Oh! Mine too!" _She told him and then imagined the other dragons were manta rays instead. Once the image was clear in her mind, they transformed and started flying around Sandy.

_"This is incredible, Mage!"_ Sandy laughed out in his mind as he watched the manta ray fly around him in a slow and graceful manner.

_"...do you think I can do other things?"_

_"Oh, I have no doubt."_ Sandy said as he continued to watch one of the manta ray. After a while, he waved his hand at it and it turned into an airplane. The same one he used to get to the North Pole last year, just a lot smaller. _"I have no doubt at all that you have more surprises in store for me."_

Mage let out silent giggles as the plane flew around her. She then looked at all of the sand and thought of doing something, but wanted to make sure it was okay with Sandy first. _"Sandy, I want to try something. It will affect your sand, but if you don't like it, you can take it back."_

Sandy looked at her and brought a finger to his chin, genuinely thinking about it. He was nervous about anything affecting his sand, but if it were to help her grow into her powers or at the very least find out what she was capable of, then he figured it should be okay, and she _had_ said he could take it back if he didn't like it. Making his mind up, he let his hand fall back down to his side, and nodded his head. He collected the dream sand that was still floating and he created it into another ball and handed her the ball. _"Try and focus on it only being a ball...then do what you want with it."_

Mage nodded her head and took the ball, doing as he said, and was glade to see that it remained a ball of sand._ 'Alright...something...unique...and colorful...' _She thought and knew instantly what she wanted to create. She was going to create her favorite flower. She looked at the ball and imagined it was already in her hand. Then, to her delight, her idea was starting to work! The sand was shifting in color until it made a singular read rose with a green stem and a couple of leaves. She handed it to Sandy who stared at it wide eyed, and he took it with a shaking hand. _"It's my favorite flower. I um...wanted to see if I could add some color to the sand. If you don't like it, you can change it back to gold."_

Sandy heard her, but couldn't bring himself to reply as he stared at the sand rose in his hand with immense fascination, wonder, and curiosity. _"It's never been any other color than gold."_ He told her after a solid ten minutes of silently looking at the sand rose. _"Well...other than when Pitch changed it to black..."_ He trailed off as he returned it back to gold.

_"I'm sorry. I won't do it again."_

_"No, I think you misunderstand. It's a lot for me to grasp. Mage...I want you to take a guess at how old all of the Guardians are."_

_"Seriously!?"_

_"Yes, it will help explain some things. Go on."_

_"Alright..."_ She sighed silently. _"Well...Jack looks physically fourteen or fifteen...but I imagine he's been a spirit for maybe a century...so maybe a hundred and fifteen?"_

_"No, he is three hundred and fifteen."_ Sandy told her, and couldn't help the smile on his face when her expression immediately transformed into astonishment.

_"Alright...um...Tooth...I'm going to guess...perhaps around four or five hundred years old?"_

_"Closer to Five hundred."_ Sandy told her, and she beamed at getting at least close to the age.

_"North...Four hundred."_

_"Sounds like a solid guess."_ Sandy said with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

_"Well...he's older than Jack...I can tell that much...but he's younger than the Tooth Fairy."_

_"Very good. He's around the four hundred and fifty range though."_

_"Okay...now...Bunny...he's...well he's from another planet...I'm going to guess that he's older than the earth, and that no one really knows his age."_

_"That...is exactly right!"_ Sandy shouted in his mind with excitement. _"Not even I could tell you his age. Alright...now me. How old do you think I am?"_

_"Hmm...I don't really know...but...you would have to be younger than Bunny if you don't know his age...but...I'm going to guess...three billion years old."_

_"OUCH!"_ Sandy laughed loudly in his mind._ "MAKE ME ANCIENT WHY DON'T YOU!?" _

To anyone else, Sandy would've looked like he was on his back flailing like a child during a tantrum with a wide smile on his face, and eyes screwed shut as tears started to leave his eyes, but to Mage, she could hear how hard he was laughing. It was clear, joyous, and wonderful. She waited for him to calm down as her smile grew wider at the sound of his laugh. Once he was done, he sat back up on his cloud and wiped away a tear of laughter. _"Are you done?" _She asked with a slight chuckle in her thoughts.

_"Oh!"_ He chuckled out. _"I believe so! Wow! I haven't laughed that hard in centuries!"_

Mage couldn't help the laugh that swam in her mind. _"I'm going to take that as a no, then."_

"I should hope so!" Sandy told her with an open smile. _"No, I am most certainly not that old! I'm old, but damn..." _

Mage's eyes went wide at Sandy's words. _"Huh, who knew the Sandman cursed."_

_"Mage..."_ He trailed off with a mischievous smirk. _"...there's a lot about me that even the Guardians don't know. Now...to answer the question I asked you...I am one-hundred million years old...and some change."_

_"Wow...you are old!"_ She joked and watched as Sandy grinned at her and made a cane appear and he pretended to walk with it, causing her to laugh in her mind.

Satisfied he could make her laugh, he made the cane disappear, and shook his head at his own silliness. _"Yes, I am old. Now...the thing is...you changing the sand's color...I didn't dislike it...but it was a bit unnerving, because in all that time there was only ever one person that changed it's color, and now he's a good hundred feet or more in the dirt with his own Nightmares and fears to deal with. So...I guess I'm more shocked and confused than anything."_

_"Why are you confused?"_

_"Well, I thought I was the only one on earth who could manipulate my dream sand without it getting twisted and dark for starters...secondly, in all my long years I never thought that someone could ever use the dream sand like I can."_

_"But you said Pitch used it."_

_"No, he twisted it, and when he did, he only had two shapes in mind, and was more than likely limited by those two shapes. He created nightmare horses, and a scythe. I don't think he could do much else, but you? You were able to actually create and imagine and alter in all good ways. I think I may have an idea at what you're able to do, but I don't know for sure yet, so please don't ask...but that's why it's all rather astonishing and confusing...no one's done it before. I didn't even think anyone else could manipulate my dream sand that way when I came to Earth."_

_"Wait, you're an alien too!?"_

_"In a way, I suppose. I used to be part of the League of Star Captains. We would move the stars and unlock the wishes made on them, then try and go give good dreams to children from the wishes that were there. However, my sand was no where near what it is now. For one thing...my sand is infinite now."_

_"You...unlocked...wishing starts!? You moved the stars!?"_

_"Yes, I did." _Sandy told her proudly._ "It was great fun, but then I eventually ended up here, and I found I could do something better."_

_"I'd say. I'm glad you ended up here. I wouldn't have met you and then I would've never had you as a friend."_

_"We're friends?"_

_"I thought we were...aren't we?"_

_"No! We are! I just didn't think after what happened to you, you would be quick to make friends."_

_"No...that woman was just poor judgment on my part. I'm glad you and I are friends."_

_"I'm glad too. Say, are you getting hungry? It's close to lunch now."_

_"Have we really been talking that long?"_

_"Well...talking and playing with dream sand." He said honestly and heard large footsteps approaching._

"There you two are! Come! We go eat lunch! Jack is here as well. He will be eating with us."

_"Oh good, I was hoping I could speak to Jack."_ Mage instinctively told North in her mind, but then not only she, but Sandy as well, realized that it well and truly was only limited to Sandy. She took out her notebook and started writing. **_"That's good, I was hoping I could talk to him. I also found out more about my powers, but it's still a bit sketchy for now. Sandy is helping. Let's go eat!"_**


	5. Chapter 5

During lunch, Mage had eaten two sandwiches, a pickle, and an apple. She had talked to Jack about how he became a spirit, what he did during his three hundred years, and how he became a Guardian, and that conversation went on for about five more hours. She then had dinner and it was spaghetti, which made her really happy. Especially since there seemed to always be a wide variety of food. Sometime during the conversation at lunch though, Sandy had to go and deliver dreams and said he would be back later. Now, she was in her room, sitting on her bed, not knowing what to do. She looked at her clothes, and then back at the dresser, and decided to change into one of the sets of pajamas she saw that was a short sleeve shirt and long pants. They were light blue with dark blue stars and moons printed onto it. Once she was changed into it she sat back down on her bed and went back to thinking what she should do.

After about thirty minutes of trying to figure out what to do with her spare time, she found her gaze leading back to the notebooks. _'I guess I could draw...'_ She said and she took one of the blue notebooks and opened it up to the first page. When she was in junior high and high school, she had grown quite adept at drawing. She learned out to make them look almost as real as the real thing just by sketching it. The only other problem was coloring it. She could picture it, but coloring it was a different story entirely.

After about two hours, she finished sketching out a manta ray, and it was beautiful if she does say so her self. The longer she looked at her artistry, the more she wondered if she could do something similar to what she had done with Sandy's sand. Just as she was about to test it, she heard her door open. _"North said I would find you in here."_ Sandy announced as he floated closer to her, and noticed she wore a puzzled expression. _"Is everything alright?"_

_"Yeah, I just wanted to try something with my powers."_

_"Well, why don't you then?"_ He questioned, sensing her hesitation.

_"I dunno...what if it doesn't work? I'll feel like a fool..."_

_"Yeah, you very well might feel like a fool."_

_"THANKS!"_ She spat as she stared at her drawing.

Sandy laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, getting her attention. _"You may feel like a fool if it doesn't work, but you'll feel like a fool that tried. Go on, I won't laugh, and if I do it will be out of Joy...not making fun."_

Mage let out a silent sigh and nodded her head._ "Alright...first...to add some color." She told him as she looked at the drawing of a manta ray._

_"Wow, that's a beautiful drawing, Mage!"_

_"Thanks..." _She told him with an appreciative smile. She looked back at the drawing and pictured the exact color she wanted it to look like and tapped the areas she wanted to be those specific colors and shades. To not only her's but Sandy's surprise, the image began to look as real as a picture. _"I did it!"_

_"Yes you did! This is fantastic! Now...I want you to try something...this gives me an idea..."_

_"Alright, what is it?"_

_"I want you to bring it to life."_

_"You want me to what?"_

_"Like my sand. My sand moves like the creatures move. You were able to manipulate and give another life to my sand. I think you may be able to do the same thing with this. You added color after all, and besides...won't North and the yeti be surprised to see a manta ray flying in the air that ISN'T made out of my dreams sand?"_

_"You're as bad as Jack."_

_"No, believe me, I'm worse."_ Sandy laughed out in his mind. _"Now...try...please?" _

She nodded her head with mischievous grin and looked at the paper, and focused on how she felt when she gave it color. She closed her eyes, relaxed her breathing, and allowed her body to gently guide itself as her palms turned up to the ceiling and they gently raised. She heard a slight flapping sound coming from the paper, then she heard a gasp from Sandy. She opened her eyes, and right in front of her, there was an almost completely real manta ray floating in front of her, and facing her. _"S-Sandy! I did it!" _She shouted at him with an excited and surprised look on her face. When she turned to face Sandy she saw that he had somewhat of the same expression, but there was also a hint of pride in his eyes as he smiled at her.

_"I am so proud of you! And now I know at least one of your powers."_

_"Really?" _She questioned with a growing curiosity, and eyes waiting in anticipation.

_"Yes, it seems...and considering what you've told me of your past...it's rather fitting...but it seems you hold the power to bring your imagination to life."_

_"That's awesome!" _She exclaimed as she jumped up in down on her bed as she sat.

_"Yes it is, and an extremely rare, almost unheard of power. Treat it with as much caution as you can possibly muster. The imagination is a wonderful thing, but it can also be a terrible thing as well, and will likely be affected by your emotions. Now...what say we send it flying out into the hallway, huh?"_

_"Yeah!" _She shouted as she flung the covers off her bed and jumped off. She was still barefoot, but she didn't care as they made their way into the hallway. She imagined the manta ray to fly towards her and it did. _"It seems if I imagine it...it does it."_

_"That's good, but that's also something to have caution for. You understand?"_

_"Yes I understand."_ She told him with a nod, and quietly walked out of the room with him. _"Oh! There he is!"_

_"Good. Now be careful...you don't want it to freak him out so much that he ends up falling down one of the railings. You have to try and keep it controlled."_

_"Got it!"_ She crept down the hallway a little bit more, and noticed North was speaking with Jack. _"This'll be perfect."_ She told Sandy who started to silently giggle. She mentally told the manta ray to fly towards North and Jack, and it did. Once it got there, their faces were priceless. They looked at the manta ray and backed away from it, and she made sure that they backed away to the windows.

_"That's good! You're keeping them safe!"_

_"How long do you think I should keep this up?"_

_"I dunno..."_ He told her with a smirk playing at his lips and a shrug of his shoulders. "_North is starting to look around, and Jack seems to be having a great time with it."_

_"Well, North seems a bit fed up with it."_ She told him with a laugh as she walked out of her hiding place. She imagined the manta ray to come back towards her. As it did, she carefully watched North and Jack, who's eyes were following said manta ray, and when they landed on her as well as the manta ray flying around her, their jaws dropped.

"Are you...are you controlling that thing?" Jack asked with an amused grin.

Mage looked at him and gave a confident smile as she nodded her head. She tapped Sandy for a brief moment telling him, _"Can you tell them what happened? I don't have my notebooks with me."_

Sandy nodded his head at her and symbols started appearing above his head. _"Mage apparently has the power to bring her imagination to life. We still don't know much about it, but what we do know is...she's an incredible artist..."_ He told them as he eyed her reaction and noticed a faint smile accompanied by a blush, causing his own smile to widen slightly as he continued. _"...and when she drew the manta ray, it was with a pencil...she hadn't added color to it yet...she then imagined it had color and tapped all the places she wanted to be a certain color and they instantly became that color. Then, I suggested that she try and bring it to life...and she was able to."_

"That's amazing! I can do that too!" Jack shouted, and his words caught the gaping attentions of North and Sandy. He looked at them both and his smile widened. "Watch!" He said as he excitedly moved to the window. He set his staff to the side, earning a gasp from both North and Sandy.

_"Why are you so surprised he let go of his staff?"_

_"He never lets it go...I've never seen him once let it go."_

"Okay...now what animal should I draw?"

"Oh! How about a bunny!" North exclaimed as his own excitement was starting to grow slightly.

"One frost bunny coming up!" Jack put his hand on the glass of the window and it frosted up almost immediately. He then drew the same bunny he did for Jamie. "Alright...now watch this! It won't last for long, but it's super cool!" Mage nodded her head, and watched with amazement as Jack cupped his hands together, and the rabbit hopped into his hand. Then, it suddenly started hopping in mid air around her, then Sandy. Finally, it hopped around North, before turning into a puff of snow. "It was how I got Jamie to believe in Bunny...one of the snowflakes that fell from it got him to believe in me...so...win win! Did you like it?"

Mage hadn't realized her jaw had dropped in excited amazement, so she closed her mouth and frantically nodded her head. _"That was amazing!"_

_"She said it was amazing."_ Sandy told Jack, remembering that they couldn't hear her thoughts or really understand her without paper and pen.

"Thank you!" Jack said and looked to North. "What about you?"

"I think there is more to you than meets the eye, yes?"

"Oh yeah!"

_"Well..."_ Mage said to Sandy as she looked at him. _"...That was fun, but I should be getting back to bed."_

_"Right...I'll follow you."_ Sandy told her with his mind before looking at North and Jack telling them with his symbols, _"You can thank me for that little prank...but now Mage needs to get to bed."_

"Very well...good night, Mage, and sweet dreams." North said with a fond smile.

She nodded her head to North in a way that said, 'Thank you. You too.' Then she made her way back to her room with Sandy following behind her, and neither of them saw the smirks that North and Jack were wearing, nor did they see the knowing side glance they gave each other.

Once she was back in her room, she crawled back onto her bed, and imagined the manta ray went back to being a drawing and it did. It went perfectly back into the paper, and the power she felt humming through her body like a soft song...was almost effortless. _"I'm impressed."_ Sandy said simply as he conjured his dream cloud next to her bed.

_"Thanks, Sandy."_ She sighed out.

_"What's wrong, Mage?"_ Sandy questioned with a look of concern quickly crossing his features.

_"Nothing...it's just...Jack was able to do the same thing..."_

_"Yes...but not nearly to the extent of what you did. Once he brought it to life, it took on a will of it's own. You are linked to your creations, and they last for as long as you tell them to last. His do not. Besides...did you see the way he lit up?"_

_"Yeah..."_ She trailed off as a soft smile appeared on her lips. She glanced at Sandy and nodded her head. _"Thank you. That helps."_

_"I'm glad. Now, are you really going to bed, or are you just going to sit there?"_

_"I was contemplating drawing some more, but at the same time I AM tired..."_

_"Very well...I would opt for the sleep option if I were you. I'm about to head to bed myself."_

_"Oh yeah, I forgot you had a room here."_

_"Yes, I will likely only get two to three hours of sleep, but that should be more than enough. What would you like to dream about this time?"_

_"Hmm...dancing again."_

_"You sure do love dancing..."_ Sandy told her with a small smirk.

_"You DO make a great dance partner."_

_"You want to dance with me again?"_ Sandy asked carefully as he felt a slight blush appear on his face, though, he didn't know why.

_"Yeah, why do you ask?"_

_"No reason, I guess. Just didn't expect it that's all. So...where will we be dancing?"_

_"Hmm...well the ballroom was nice...but I want something different. How about...in outer space? Or at least in between the moon and Earth."_

_"That certainly is out there."_ Sandy grinned. _"Very well...one out of this world dance dream coming right up."_ He pulled out some dream sand from his cloud and gently sprinkled it above her head. In no time at all, she fell back with a soft smile on her face. Sandy covered her up and watched the dream begin to unfold. Once again they were dancing like friends, but apparently the song was a bit slower, and he could see that they were indeed dancing in between the moon and Earth. _"Sweet Dreams, Mage."_ He whispered to her in his mind just before leaving the room.


	6. Chapter 6

Once Sandy closed her door behind him as quietly as he could, he turned to try and go to his door, but he was met with Jack and North giving him evil smirks and both of them had their arms crossed. "Um...hi?" Sandy said with his symbols above his head as he gave a confused look.

"So, is she asleep?" Sandy nodded his head, his confused expression turning skeptical and a bit cautious. "Good, you mind telling us why you seem so fascinated with new spirit?"

Sandy tilted his head as his brow furrowed. _"I don't know what you're talking about."_

"I think what North is wondering is...well...it almost looks like you have a crush on her."

_"A crush!? Why would I want to crush her!?"_ Sandy stepped back a bit, shocked by Jack's words.

"No...not that kind of crush...it um...it seems that you like her...a lot...in a romantic way, but slightly. That's what it means to have a crush."

_"I...no. We're just friends."_

"Right...and that would explain why you were so alarmed that she was not in hospital bed this morning?" North questioned as he rose an eye brow of doom.

_Sandy felt something in his mind snap as North seemed to make his worry sound like it was nothing. "Of course I was worried!"_ Sandy practically shouted with his symbols. _"I watched her get murdered! Then, suddenly she's not in the hospital bed I saw her in last!? I didn't know you would clear her that fast! I was glad she was okay, but it worried the hell out of me! She's a new spirit! Not only that, but Manny charged me with her care! He told me to take care of her and help her grow into her powers! That's what I'm doing! And I would've liked to know that she was moved! You could've at the very least had Phil tell me!"_

"Whoa...I haven't seen Sandy that mad since I watched him pummel Pitch into three different walls before tossing him into a street! Did you get all that, North? I know I did."

"Yes, I did." North said simply, his eyes growing wide. "I've never seen you so worked up, old friend."

_"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you worry about the spirit Manny charged you with, and when your friends accuse you of having romantic feelings for that spirit after just one night."_

"But...you seem happier around her." Jack said simply. "We..." Jack said waving a hand between him and North. "...are your friends. Tooth is a female as well, and she is your friend...but even when she was losing belief...you didn't react like you did when you didn't know where Mage was."

_"I...I AM happier around her, but that doesn't mean I've developed romantic feelings for her. It's just...she understands me...literally! It's nice...but no. We're just friends. She's a very nice woman, but...no. May I ask what entirely brought this on? I highly doubt it was just my behavior this morning."_

"Well, it was the worry, the way you were concerned for her both in the medical wing and when you busted into the dining hall. Sandy...you looked like you were going to fall over in relief that she was okay. There was also the fact that you do smile more around her, and when she was able to understand you...I don't know if you know this...but North said...well, he said that once you found out she could understand you, you were blushing apparently. So...we just thought..."

_"I...I was blushing?"_ Sandy asked North, and received a polite nod as his answer. _"I hadn't realized..."_ Sandy trailed off with his sand slowly falling around him. Then, he quickly looked up at Jack and North with a determined look._ "That still doesn't mean I have romantic feelings for her. It just caught me a bit off guard...and you two are hopeless romantics! The two of you read more romance novels than Cupid!"_ Sandy joked and let out a sigh. _"Besides...the festival is next month...in four days! You know that."_

"Ah, the heart song for love festival. You will be attending again?"

_"I..."_ Sandy didn't know why all of a sudden he would hesitate in his answer, and it frankly concerned him a bit, but he shook his head, trying to shake whatever thought may have tried to sneak in, and he looked at North and Jack and nodded his head. _"I have gone every year for the past six hundred years, and it's been going on longer than you've been alive North. I will go, and I will do what I've always done."_

"Good! We should take Mage! See if she hears a song that resonates with her."

"That would be a good idea!" Jack shouted. "I remember when I sand and my song resonated with the spirit of fall. When she started singing as well...it was like my heart was full and I could feel it all over my body. It would be nice if she could feel that way too."

_"I will talk with her about it sometime tomorrow. For now...can I trust that the two of you understand that I do not have romantic feelings about her?"_

"Yes. We must admit to jumping to conclusion. Forgive us?"

Sandy let out a silent sigh and nodded his head. _"Yes, I forgive you. Now, if you don't mind. I'm tired, and I'm going to make the most of my room for the next two hours."_

"Very well! Sweet dreams, Sandy."

_"Same to you, North. Always." _Sandy walked into his room and closed the door behind him, letting out a silent breath of relief. _'That has to be the strangest conversation I've ever had with them...'_ He thought to himself as he made his way to his golden bed. Once he was comfortable, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep and dream.

_**oOoOoOoOoOo**_

Sandy always knew when he was dreaming, mainly because he was the sandman, but there were other reasons that factored into it. For one, he was his original size in the dream. Before he came to Earth he was a little over six feet tall, thin yet built, had neatly combed medium length hair for a man, skin just a slightly darker shade than Jack's, and his attire was almost entirely golden. He wore golden dress shoes, golden dress pants with a black belt that had a golden buckle. Above that was his golden dress vest that had intricate swirls sewn into it with a slightly darker golden thread. The vest laid on top of a white shirt and he wore a black tie that laid on top of the white shirt and underneath the vest. The other difference was that he could actually speak and ever since he landed on Earth and experienced it's gravity, it's air, it's atmosphere, and even the moon's pull on the ocean, his powers and magic altered his appearance and ability to speak. However, he never saw reason to speak in his dreams. That is...until he opened his eyes in the dream.

"Mage?" He questioned, hearing his own voice come from his mouth. He was stunned at her appearance. Her hair was put up into a pony tail, her appearance was the same from before Manny turned her into a spirit, and she wore a golden necklace, and then he noticed that she was also wearing a sapphire blue dress. It had a beautiful white sash sewn into the top and it didn't have sleeves, but she did wear a short black coat that went over it, and it fit surprisingly well with the dress, and beneath it she wore simple black shoes.

He watched in shock as Mage turned around and noticed him. "Oh...I seemed to have lost my dance partner...do you happen to know where he is?" She asked him with her voice able to speak.

Sandy looked around and noticed that he was in the dream setting he made for her, and his jaw dropped. _'I am dream walking...in her dream...this isn't possible...'_ He thought to himself as he looked around again.

"Excuse me? Sir? Do you happen to know where my dance partner went? We were dancing to a beautiful song."

"Mage...it's me. Sandy." He told her as he held his palms against his chest.

"S-Sandy!? Sandman Sandy!?"

He nodded as a nervous smile made it's way onto his facial expression. "Yeah...and um...this is what I looked like before coming to Earth. I only take this form in my dreams...and in all my years...I've heard of dream walking and found it interesting...but I was never able to do it...no matter how hard I tried."

"Y-You're really Sandy...wow! And you're actually talking!" She said as her eyebrows rose and eyes widened in shock at his appearance. She had to admit that he looked incredibly handsome and the way he held himself and spoke reminded her of a prince. The way he looked alone reminded her of that. Shaking her head she brought a hand to her temple and looked at Sandy again. "Then why is it possible now?" She asked remembering his words just seconds ago.

"I...I don't know. I think it has something to do with you, and how you're able to manipulate my dream sand. It could be your powers in general...it could very well be both." He told her honestly, and then remembered that they, in fact, were in her dream and he cleared his throat, bring a fist up to his mouth briefly. Not knowing why he felt the urge, but wasn't going to complain. It was a dream after all. "Did you um...still want to dance?" He asked cautiously.

"I...would love to, but I'm not that good..."

"Allow me to lead, Mage." Sandy smiled fondly at her as he placed a hand on her hip and held out his hand for her to grab it.

As soon as she took his hand a song began to play, and they began to dance to it's rhythm in the form of a waltz with Sandy leading, and Mage following his lead effortlessly with a smile on both of their faces while the song played. As the song picked up tempo, so did they, and it was effortless and graceful. Once they were done, they decided to dance again, and listen to the lyrics as they repeated their steps.

_**There are things in life you learn**_  
_**And oh in time you'll see**_  
_**It's out there somewhere**_  
_**It's all waiting**_  
_**If you keep believing**_  
_**So don't run**_  
_**Don't hide**_  
_**It will be alright**_  
_**You'll see**_  
_**Trust me**_  
_**I'll be there watching over you**_

_**Just take a look through my eyes**_  
_**There's a better place somewhere out there**_  
_**Just take a look through my eyes**_  
_**Everything changes**_  
_**You'll be amazed what you'll find**_  
_**(There's a better place)**_  
_**If you look through my eyes**_

_**There will be times on this journey**_  
_**All you'll see is darkness**_  
_**But out there somewhere**_  
_**Daylight finds you**_  
_**If you keep believing**_  
_**So don't run**_  
_**Don't hide**_  
_**It will be alright**_  
_**You'll see**_  
_**Trust me**_  
_**I'll be there watching over you**_

_**Just take a look through my eyes**_  
_**there's better place somewhere out there**_  
_**Just take a look through my eyes**_  
_**Everything changes**_  
_**You'll be amazed what you'll find**_  
_**(There's a better place)**_  
_**If you look through my eyes**_

_**All the things that you can change**_  
_**There's a meaning in everything**_  
_**And you will find all you need**_  
_**There's so much to understand**_  
_**Take a look (take a look) through my eyes**_  
_**there's a better place somewhere out there**_  
_**Just take a look (take a look) through my eyes**_  
_**Everything changes**_  
_**You'll be amazed what you'll find**_  
_**(You'll be amazed if you just take a look)**_  
_**Look through my eyes there's a better place somewhere out there**_  
_**Just take a look through my eyes**_  
_**Everything changes**_  
_**You'll be amazed what you'll find**_  
_**If you look through my eyes**_  
_**Just take a look through my eyes**_  
_**If you look through my eyes **_  
_**Take a look through my eyes**_

"Well..." Mage said as they finished on the last note. "...I was definitely right." She told him a little out of breath as they separated. "You are a great dance partner, and as far as first...and second dances go. That was amazing."

Sandy felt his heart pounding at it all and he was slightly breathless from the dancing. He hadn't danced since he was younger than a hundred. He forgot the exact age, but he knew he hadn't made it to a century yet, but he knew right then that any dance he had been a part of before was like night and day compared to the one he was just a part of, but he couldn't put his finger on as to why that was. "You're an excellent dancer as well." He told her with a gentle smile, if only to keep conversation going while his mind tried to grasp the feeling of it all. _'She followed me so effortlessly...and the way she smiled when we danced a second time...this dream walking...this is all so strange! What's happening!?'_

"Thank you! I wasn't sure if I was being a good dance partner or not, but I tried."

_'At least she can't hear my thoughts.'_ He thought quickly before giving her a polite smile and a gentlemanly bow. "You were exceptional, my dear." He told her and then blushed lightly. _'Right...honesty is a thing in here...but why would I say those last two words to her!? Her name would've been fine...right?'_

"Oh...thank you." She said with an honest and appreciative smile as Sandy straightened his posture once more. "I'm glad my first dance partner was you."

"Well, you may not be my first dance partner ever, but you are my first dance partner on earth. Oh, and I have to say...the song that played...it fits our situation quite well."

"How so?"

"Well...you're getting to take a look through my eyes so to speak. Using your imagination and able to manipulate the dream sand. There's also the fact that I plan to watch over you for as long as I am needed and then for as long as you need me. You're on your way to an exciting yet difficult journey. It will be difficult, and there will be hardship, but I'll be there for you, and currently, you've been pretty amazed with yourself and your situation. All in all...a song that fits." Suddenly a bell sounded.

"What was that?"

"It was a sort of built in alarm for me...it's time for me to wake up so I can deliver dreams to children." Sandy explained with a guilty expression.

"Could I...could I come with you?"

At that, his eyes widened considerably in shock and curiosity. "You want to come with me?"

"Yes. I want to see what you do."

"Alright...I don't see why not. I should be able to keep you safe on my dream cloud, but you'll need to dress a bit warm. It's cold out and even the places that aren't experiencing winter...it's still chilly up where I am."

"Alright!"

"Very well..." Sandy said as he woke himself up. Once he was awake, he felt his heart was still pounding from the dancing. He didn't know why, but for once...he didn't want to stop dreaming, and the dancing _had_ truly been wonderful. However, if Mage was going to join him, he was going to need to wake her up. Jumping up from his bed, he went to Mage's door and carefully opened it, knowing she wouldn't be able to open it while she was asleep.

Once he was inside he saw that she was still asleep and she was wearing the most peaceful and content expression he had ever seen. He almost didn't want to wake her up, but if they were going to go, they had to leave soon. He then gently put his hand on her shoulder, shaking her lightly. _"Mage..."_

She blinked awake and sat up slowly, rubbing at her eyes, and let out a silent yawn as she stretched. She then looked at Sandy and her eyes widened. _"That...how much of that was a dream?"_

_"All of it technically..." _He explained with a small smirk._ "...but the part where I arrived in my taller form...that was as real as a dream could get. All of that really happened. In the dream world, but truly happened none the less."_

_"So you...I wasn't simply dreaming it was I...that was really you?"_

_"Yes, just as I said...that was my form before coming to earth."_ He answered with a shy smile. _"Do you still...do you still want to travel with me tonight?"_

_"That was real too! Oh, right...you said it was as real as can be...well...yes I would love to! Let me get dressed, and then we can go. It won't take me long."_

_"Alright."_ Sandy said as he watched her gather various clothes from her dresser, and then watched her dart to the bathroom.

She was right, it didn't take her long. Five minutes at most, and she was dressed. She put on a plain black sweater that had a singular sunflower in the middle of it, dark blue jeans, black and white sneakers, and as she left the bathroom, she reached into the closet and pulled out a yellow coat that had a zipper and a hood, and she put it on as quickly as she could. _"Oh...I should probably write North a note."_

_"I wouldn't..."_

_"Why not?"_

_"He didn't leave me one."_

Mage put her hands on her hips and gave Sandy a disapproving look. _"And how did that make you feel? Not great I imagine. I'm not going to do that to him even though it was wrong for him to do that to you. It may even remind him to tell you next time if something happens."_

Sandy's eyes widened and as a proud smile graced his features. _"You're more mature than me, then."_

_"No, just...considerate."_ She told him as she took the notebook and wrote, _**"North, Sandy and I are currently delivering dreams to children. I asked if I could go with him and he said yes. So we're out. I will be back when he gets back. I think it would be good for me to get out of here for a bit anyway. It's always nice to hang out with friends. Well...thank you for reading this." **_

She showed it to Sandy and he nodded in approval. _"That's very good."_ He told her, remembering the confrontation they had with him before he went to bed, and he hoped that they wouldn't read anything into this. He told them that Manny charged him with her care and training, so really, there was no reason to think anything into it. However, he still couldn't get the dance out of his mind, and if he was to be honest, he didn't want to.

_"Good. Now, where to first?"_

_"Hmm...well, by the time we make it there it will be nightfall...have you ever been to France?"_ At his question her eyes lit up, and he felt something like a shiver, but it was in his chest, and he didn't understand it at all, but she was obviously happy and excited, so he wasn't going to question it.

_"No, I haven't! I've always wanted to go!"_

_"Then France it is!"_ He told her with his own excited smile.

After the destination was decided, Sandy led Mage to one of the windows, and he floated out of it on his cloud. Mage looked at his cloud and held a hand out to touch it, but didn't quite touch it yet. "Is it safe?"

_"Sure! Do you trust me?"_

_"What?"_ She asked, feeling like the words were familiar to her. Like she's heard them in a movie.

_"Do you trust me?"_ He asked once more, holding out her hand.

_'Oh my God...this is like that one scene from Aladdin where Aladdin asks Jasmine to go with him just before taking her on the magic carpet ride...I'm having a Disney moment!'_ She shook the thought away with a grin and took Sandy's hand as he made his Sand cloud big enough for two. _"Yes."_ She told him, and felt him pull her onto the cloud, and noticed the large grin that appeared on his face.

As they flew, Sandy couldn't help but notice the look of awe on her face. It was pleasant, and even though they were crossing the ocean, she still seemed so fascinated. _"Enjoying the view, Mage?"_ Sandy asked as he continued to fly them towards France. He knew his own routine well. In North America he went from top to bottom, in South America he also went from top to bottom, In Africa he went from bottom to top, In Europe he went from left to right, In Asia he went from top to bottom, and then finally in Australia, he went from bottom to top before making his way back to the North Pole. He would have to stop in Spain first, but he figured that she wouldn't mind France, and he was right.

_"Enjoying it? I'm loving it! This is amazing!"_ She told him with excitement ever evident in her eyes.

Sandy nodded his head with a wide smile on his face. _"We'll have to stop in Spain first, but then we can make our way across Europe with France being our second stop."_

_"Spain!? That's awesome! The only two countries I've only really been to two other places outside of my own country. Ireland and Australia. So, to me...this will be amazing."_

_"I bet."_ He said with a slight chuckle, then remembered the rest of his conversation with North and Jack. _"Hey, Mage...can I tell you something?"_

_"Hmm?"_ She questioned as she looked at him. _"Sure."_

_"Well, there's this tradition we spirits have...and have had for a very long time. You see...songs are important to spirits. To humans, they are normal every day songs, but to us...they are called heart songs and they become a part of our heart...sometimes long before the song is even written. Now...I'm telling you this because there are three different heart song festivals, and I will be attending one of them next month. There's the friendship heart song which is held every twenty years, mainly due to the fact that Spirits made friends regardless...but with a heart song, you were destined to be best friends. Then there's the familial heart song festival where your song may resonate with spirits who would and could love you like a family...that one is held every ten years. The one I'm going to is a romantic heart song festival. It used to be held every fifty years, but due to Cupid's suggestion, it is now held twice a year...every year. The argument was that since everyone has vastly different schedules that one could be held in the winter closer to her holiday, and the other could be held in September when it get's colder but isn't too cold for the spring and summer spirits. I usually only go to the winter one."_

_"So...what happens at the festival?"_

_"Well...at the festival...we sing, and hope that someone knows our heart song, and then if they do, that means they were destined to be our romantic partner for all our immortal life."_

_"Well...what if they know it, sing it, but they don't fit?"_

_"Not possible. The place where it's held prevents anyone else from singing the song. Only the person matching the heart song can sing it. Now, we can listen to music all we like, but until we find our heart song match, we can't sing any songs except for during the heart song festival. At least...that's how it is for those who start participating. Now, I say that...you only need one heart song to be matched and then you can sing other songs to your heart's content...but the thing is...you choose what heart song would mean the most to you, you decide that's what you want for eternity, and then that's the only heart song that matters. After you're matched, you can sing to your heart's content. North chose his, and has already sung it...that's how him and Bunny are such good friends even though they argue constantly. He chose the friendship heart song. Now, he's just an observer."_

_"Oh, and you've been attending the romance heart song festival?"_

_"Yes, I have...and I haven't found my romantic heart song yet, but it's the only heart song I care about to be honest. When I first heard about it, I thought it was the most foolish thing...but then I wanted to find my heart song too...so I started to attend. I have been attending it for six hundred years."_

_"Six hundred years and nothing? Can't spirits just fall in love with who they want?"_

_"Yes, if they agree to never attend a heart song festival, but once they agree to it...they are bound to their word and even if they never work out for long...they can still never attend after that...so most spirits just take the safer option of attending if they want romance...I must seem like a bit of a sap to you."_

_"No! I think it's sweet, but I don't understand...how could no one have gotten you as a heart song yet?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Well...everyone deserves love...but I would figure with how great of a person you are, you would've had your heart song heard."_

_"Oh, it was heard...or rather...seen...like I said...we sing it...but seeing as I don't have a voice...someone would've had to guess from my images what the song was...and though I appreciate the compliment, it's not entirely true. You see...the way Cupid explained it is that as far as romantic heart songs go...it's not like the familial or friendship heart song...where you can have more than one person tied to it...for the romantic heart song...once you're made a spirit, you only get one for all eternity."_

_"That's so sad!"_ She told him with a sorrowful expression._ "Why are you telling me this?"_ She asked as she kept her eyes on him.

_"Because, North and Jack had the idea that perhaps you should attend. I wanted to tell you about it, and ask if you would like to go. You can go just as an observer. A lot of spirits do it. North and Jack do. They go to support me. North has obviously been going for the longest to support me. So...would you like to attend the heart song festival next month? It's in four days..."_

_"Do I need an invitation?"_

_"No...not really...just someone who has been going, and that would be me."_

_"Hmm...I would love to! It would be nice to go to a music festival and hear all the different songs...oh! What kinds of songs are there?"_

_"Every song you can imagine and even some that haven't been written yet. There are even some children songs that can be heart songs. There have been songs from movies of all types even children movies. My song is...as far as I know...from a movie, and I've heard since I walked through the gate."_

_"That's so cool! So, how does someone know what their heart song is?"_

_"Well...once they pass through the gate to the domain we'll be going to, they hear it and feel it. Then, they wait to hear for someone else to sing it or they sing it themselves. After that, they pretty much always know what their heart song is." _

_"Okay, so let me get this straight...first time goers hear their heart song once they pass the gate, and after that they know it forever...and there is only one match for a romantic heart song, and after the song is sung and match, you can sing whatever song you want?"_

_"That's pretty much it...and I haven't heard mine for six hundred years...so you may end up watching me 'sing' and fail. Like I said...I can only use my symbols."_

_"Hmm...alright, I'll go. I'll be there to support you too. At least afterwards you'll have someone to actually vent to."_

_"That's a very good point, Mage. Thank you. Now...we're arriving at France."_

Mage immediately looked down and her eyes widened. _"We already did Spain?"_ She questioned as she took in the lights of France, and felt herself stunned and awed at the same time.

_"Yes, I did it while we were talking about the heart song festival. I guess you didn't notice then."_ He chuckled out. _"Well then, watch this."_ He told her and started to allow his strands and tendrils of sand to light up the sky and flow into all of the different areas, breaking off into a thousands of other strands and tendrils that then broke off into others.

_"Wow, it's like a sand tree! All of the branches!"_

_"That's a very accurate way of putting it. I hadn't thought about it that way before."_ Sandy mused as he felt his sand slowly start to return. After about ten minutes, the sand had returned and Mage stood there stunned. _"What?"_ He asked as he caught her expression that included a dropped jaw.

_"That was super fast!"_

_"Yes well...all they need is a little sprinkle of it. Once it sprinkles on them, it returns, but it returns faster than it leaves as you could tell. It's how I'm able to do all of the countries that need sweet dreams, and make it back in time for at least SOME rest."_

_"Oh, that makes much more sense now. Wow, that's amazing, Sandy!"_

_"Why, thank you." He told her with an appreciative smile. "Let's go visit the other countries."_

_"Okay!"_


	7. Chapter 7

Once they finished all the countries that needed sweet dreams, Sandy brought her back to the North Pole, and they were met with a curious sight. _"Um...Why are the yeti running around frantically?"_

_"I have no idea..."_ Sandy floated them into the North Pole where they then saw North, who seemed to be worried about something. Sandy walked up to him and tapped his leg. _"North, what's wrong?"_

North looked down just in time to see Sandy's question and quickly noticed Mage. "Oh good! You are safe! You were not there when yeti came to bring food."

Sandy's face immediately went from worried to understanding and a mischievous smirk appeared on his lips as he turned to face Mage with crossed arms and mischievous eyes. _"You didn't leave the note, did you?"_

Mage smiled at him triumphantly and shook her head as she took out a piece of paper from her jacket pocket. _"I tore it out last minute."_

Sandy looked at the paper and started silently chuckling just before silently being thrown into a fit of silent laughter as he held his stomach from how hard he was laughing. "What is wrong, Sandy?" North asked, not knowing why his friend was suddenly seemingly laughing.

Sandy calmed himself and shook his head as he handed North the note. He waited for North to read it and looked up at him with a patient gaze. Once North looked back at him Sandy held up symbols with a smirk on his lips. _"Now you know how I felt when I didn't see Mage in the medical wing. Not a good feeling is it?"_

"Ah...I see...I am very sorry, Sandy. I have learned lesson."

_"I'm glad. You're never too old to learn a lesson, and you are living proof of that. Oh, and I spoke to Mage about the heart song festival, she said she would go."_

"This is good news! I will tell Cupid that we will be adding another person to the festivities and explain situation about you becoming a spirit. You'll like her, she's very nice...a bit much sometimes with new people, but nice!"

_"Sounds good to me."_ Mage told him, but then let out a sigh when she remembered that Sandy was the only one that could hear her.

_"Frustrating...I know."_ Sandy told her as he floated up to pat her shoulder. He then turned to North and said, _"She said that sounds good. So...are we in time for breakfast?"_

"Yes, but allow yeti to do check up on her. See if anything has changed, and to check stitches."

_"North...she arrived two nights ago."_

"Yes, and her situation was very severe."

_"Alright...but I'm going with."_

"Good, let's go." North said with a bellowing laugh as he led them to the medical wing once more. Once they got there, North instructed Mage to get onto the medical bed, and she did. "Now...I'm going to check stitches on neck and stomach okay?" Before he became what people know as Santa Clause, he was a bandit king, and such things didn't bother him as he also had to help heal and mend his wounded men and women that were part of his bandit family. However, he understood that she didn't know that so her flushed cheeks were very understandable at the moment.

Feeling slightly embarrassed she did so hesitantly. Once she took off her jacket she laid back and lifted the shirt up to where he asked. She hadn't realized the stitches were there until she went to change into the clothes she was wearing now. Suddenly, next to her she heard a gasp. _"Sandy?"_ She asked carefully, looking at him, and quickly noticed that his hands were clasped over his mouth as North began to look over the stitches.

_"I...I knew the wounds were bad...but I didn't know to the extent of how bad they were."_ Sandy told her as he felt an ugly and sharp twist in his stomach at seeing Mage stitched up in seven different places on her stomach, and none of the stitches were less than four inches long. The longest one seemed to go from the top of her rib cage to the bottom. He felt a lump in his throat quickly form, and he did everything he could to push it down. _"Did...did you know how bad your stitches were?"_

_"Not until I changed my clothes in the bathroom. I didn't even really notice the stitches across my chest and throat either."_

_"There's stitches across your chest!?" _

_"Yes, but they're not as bad as the one's on my stomach. They're smaller and there's only three. I found out about them sometime after lunch."_

_"That's three too many in my opinion."_

_"Yeah well...I would rather not have them at all."_

_"I would have to agree...I've seen the one on your throat and it's not that bad. I can tell that North infused some magic in all of the stitches so it doesn't affect your movement. So, there's that at least." _

Mage quickly noticed the worried expression that made it's way onto his face and she let out a sigh. "Sandy...can I play with some of your dream sand? It'll keep my mind off of the stitches..."

Sandy looked at North for a moment, realizing that he left out the small detail, or rather, big detail that she could also manipulate his dream sand, but if it would help her, he wanted to. He felt like he needed to, if only to help himself from drowning in sadness. He nodded his head at her and floated a small dream ball to her. "Sandy what are you doing? She does not need to sleep. She..." Anything else North had planned to say stopped abruptly as he watched Mage lift a hand up and allowed the dream sand to wrap around her hand before turning it into three manta rays. She then waved her hand to Sandy to make them fly around him in a graceful fashion. "She...she can use dream sand?" North whispered out.

Sandy found himself smiling wider as he found out almost immediately that she didn't want the dream sand just for _her_ to keep her mind off the stitches. She wanted him to keep his mind off it as well. He looked at the manta rays and felt his anxiety melt away as they flew. He then grabbed one and turned it into a dragon like the one that had first appeared around her and he sent it to her.

She smiled at him and opened the palm of her right hand, allowing it to rest in her hand before it started to crawl up her body and snuggled down in the crook of her neck. She looked up at North who had finished checking her stitches and pulled her shirt down, and she realized that his eyes were wide and his jaw was dropped. He was also looking back and forth at her and Sandy frantically. _"Um...Sandy? Is North alright?"_

Sandy jumped slightly as he immediately turned his gaze to North. "Sandy...she can use dream sand!?"

_"Ah...yeah...I may have failed to mention that..."_

"You think!?" North laughed out, his heart filling to the brim with Wonder. "This is Wonderful!"

_"There's uh...there's more."_ Sandy told him and looked at Mage with a slight smile that did not go unnoticed by North. _"Show him what you showed me, using the dragon."_

Mage smiled and sat up slowly, feeling the irritation of the balm North used on her stitches, but continued to sit up. Once she was up, she mentally commanded the dragon to climb into her palm. Once it did, she transformed it into the green and red rose she made before for Sandy, and held it in her hand for North to see. "That is...she...she changed the color of the sand..." North stated, baffled at what he just saw.

_"I know..."_ Sandy told North once he looked at him. _"...it was a shock to me too, but I can tell that it's not bad. It's still good, and it still holds the properties of a dream. It's just..."_ Sandy's eyes widened considerably as he realized what the colors in the dream sand may mean. _"...no way..."_

_"What, Sandy?"_ Mage asked.

"Is something wrong?" North asked.

_"No...nothing's wrong...I think I may have figured out exactly what her colored sand is. You see, my sand...it's normal dreams, just things that people experience when asleep and then wake up...but a...a lucid dream is entirely different."_

_"Oh! I've been able to lucid dream before! Sometimes fun...sometimes not."_ Mage told Sandy, and noticed his shock grew as his eyes widened.

_"...Lucid dreaming...you feel everything. You can use all your senses and in some cases, you can..."_ Sandy's smile grew but his eyes slowly made their way to Mage's in shock and astonishment. _"...Mage! That's how you're able to manipulate the dream sand!"_

_"What are you talking about?"_ Mage questioned with a curious expression and a tilt of her head.

_"You're a lucid dreamer! It explains so much!"_ He exclaimed with excited symbols flying overhead. _"It explains how you're able to give your imagination life! In a way...you ARE imagination! You can manipulate and create whatever comes to your mind, and you are able to imagine and feel in your dreams! It explains how you were able to change the sand's color. You're...you're the spirit of Imagination just like I'm the spirit of dreams! I know what you are! I know your powers, well...not all of them...but enough to know you're the spirit of imagination! Oh my..."_ Sandy trailed off as he remembered the dream they shared. _"...this explains our dream...and the dream walking...I wasn't dream walking INTO your dream...you WANTED to see me! You PULLED me into your dream!"_

"I am very lost...what dream did two of you share? What can someone do in some cases of lucid dreaming?"

_"Oh...we um...the dream we shared...I was...well..."_ Sandy blushed fully, his cheeks tinting a light orange red as he glanced at Mage. _"We...when she pulled me into her dream...I hadn't known it at the time...and I've tried to dream walk since I came to Earth...but it never worked...then I dream walked in her dream...well she pulled me but...we um...we danced. Twice."_

"Did...did the two of you dance to your song?" North asked cautiously but still in a bit of a shocked daze from all of the information. They finally knew what kind of spirit Mage was, and she's the first of her kind, and she was able to harness and use Sandy's dream sand. Not only that, but even after what Pitch did, he let her. His mind was reeling.

_"No! We danced to a different song! It wasn't my song, I swear."_

"Perhaps...her heart song?"

_"No...I don't think so."_ Sandy told him honestly. _"It didn't hold anything unique to her. It felt like listening to a normal song."_

_"Wait..."_ Mage started quickly. _"...the heart songs hold something unique, and everyone can sense it?"_

_"Yes...it's the only real difference between listening to music...and listening to someone's heart song. I can't really explain it...but yeah...there's always something like a unique air about the heart song that's song, but unless it resonates with someone beyond that...no one matches."_

"He is right...now...what were you saying about lucid dreaming?"

_"Oh right! Well...sometimes if a person can lucid dream, they can take control of their own dream and make it their own. They can change the scenery, the people, they can even give themselves wings and fly...there truly is no limit to what a lucid dreamer can do. They can even wake themselves up if they wished. She's a lucid dreamer. She can take control of dreams and change them! I should've realized this sooner. Oh this is remarkable! She's the spirit of Imagination! The first spirit of Imagination!"_ Then his mouth dropped open in an ecstatic shocked expression. _"That explains why she can hear and communicate with me! I'm the spirit of DREAMS! She is a LUCID DREAMER...AND The spirit of Imagination...WOW! This is amazing!" _He then turned to face Mage and noticed the wide smile that appeared on her face._ "You're the spirit of imagination, Mage!"_

_"Glad to know what I am." She told him honestly._

"I have never seen you this excited or happy about anything, Sandy. I take it this is all good." North pondered as he remembered Sandy's words just hours ago about him not holding any romantic feelings for her. _'One would not blush like that about a dream of dancing if there were absolutely no romantic feelings...' _He thought to himself quickly._ '...they wouldn't be this excited about this sort of thing either...Maybe...could it be he is just oblivious to himself? I have seen the look of even the tiniest bits of love...a crush is what Jack called it...and that is what it seems is happening...but Sandy is also right...it's not there yet...No...it's building into a crush...he is DEVELOPING feelings...he hasn't realized it! This may make festival next month difficult...but Sandy already gave his answer...and I have already told Cupid...and the guest list is irreversible. This will be interesting...'_

_"Oh, this is all fantastic!"_ Sandy shouted, interrupting North's thoughts. _"I can help her even more now! I think I know how to unlock the rest of her powers and...magic! You have magic, Mage!"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"You hold the power of imagination...the ability to create and bring your creations to life...your magic...is dream magic!"_

_"Is that like your magic?"_

_"YES! You are able to dream walk or even pull others into your dreams as you did to me! You are also able to change the dream sand and turn it into other things and creatures as well as colors! This is incredible!"_

"This IS all incredible...and I hate to ruin the mood, but I do need to continue checking stitches. I need to check the stitches on your chest now. Do you...do you want Sandy to stay or go?" North asked Mage cautiously, still feeling off about the whole situation, and if he were to be honest, a bit dumbfounded.

Mage turned to Sandy with a slight blush. _"Um...Sandy...the stitches...I have to take my bra off for it...but um...if you want...you can stay and make sure North doesn't agitate the stitches...he did it once when he gave me a check up after lunch..."_

_"I-If...you're alright with that..."_ Sandy told only her suddenly feeling a bit nervous, and for the life of him, he didn't know why.

_"I am. I'll be able to cover up most of it, but it's close to...well...yeah...I'll be able to cover it up. I know how worried you've been...if you don't want to stay...you don't have to..."_

_"N-No...I'll stay."_ He told her and then realized he was blushing again. _'What is wrong with me!? I'm getting all flustered!'_ He thought to himself and only himself.

"Mage? Do you want him to stay?" North asked once more, and received a nod as an answer, only further dumbfounding him about the whole situation. "Alright, we will turn around to allow you to undress to where you need to." North stated as he gave a side glare to Sandy, who immediately spun around to face the wall. "Good..." North muttered under his breath as he turned around.

Mage took off her bra and stuffed it next to her thigh under the blankets, and then took her sweater off, leaving only her arms in the sleeves and pulled the rest of it down her front just enough to where it was able to show the bottom of the lowest stitch was close to her nipple, but not close enough to where it would reveal anything. _"Sandy, you can turn around now. You can tell North to do the same."_

Sandy did turn around and forced his blush away at the sight he saw, not knowing why he kept blushing around her, and focused on the concern he held for the amount of stitches she had. She said there were three on her chest and that they weren't that big, and she was right, but she also had seven on her stomach and one on her throat. That gave her a grand total of eleven stitches, and that did not sit well with him. Shaking his head with a silent sigh, he tapped on North's shoulder telling him she was ready to be examined.

North turned around and nodded his head as he made his way to observe the stitches. They are looking good. I just have to put some of the magic salve on it like I did last time, okay?"

_"Yeah, that's fine."_ Mage told him, not minding him taking care of her. He was like a caring father in a way. It was nice, and she could tell that he was trying to be as cautious and tactful about this as possible.

_"She said that's fine..."_ Sandy said for her, realizing she was still having trouble remembering that she had been constantly communicating with her mind, and that it only works on him.

"Oh, okay. That's good." North said as he put the magic salve on the stitches. Once he was done he took a rag and wiped off his hands. "We will turn around so you can get dressed again." Both Sandy and North turned around, and she did as she was asked.

"I'm dressed now." She told Sandy after she readjusted her bra under her sweater.

Sandy nodded his head and tapped North on the shoulder again. "Okay...now for worse stitches." North said as he carefully leaned the bed completely flat and asked her to tilt her head back as far as she could stand it.

The problem in doing that, was that Sandy was actually able to fully see the damage done to her throat, and it was far worse than the other places that needed stitches. It was much more worse than he thought. The sight he was met with was one long scar from the bottom left of her throat creeping up in a curve going up behind her jaw bone. He found tears instantly spilling from his eyes as he felt his heart ache from the sight. _'She is a good person...she believed in us at such a late age...she was kind and just wanted to be herself...why would anyone do this!? Even for such a selfish reason that woman gave...how could someone hurt someone who is so kind, imaginative, creative, fun loving, patient, mischievous, and joyful!?' _He choke out a short sob that only Mage could here, and instantly regretted letting it slip.

_"Sandy?"_ Mage questioned, unable to see him.

_"You..."_ He started without using any dream sand for symbols. _"You did not deserve this. This should not have happened to you."_

_"I'm glad it did though."_ She told him with a smile.

_"How!?"_ Sandy asked as he wiped away his tears.

She gave him a fond smile, remembering the dream rose that still laid on the bed. She mentally commanded for it to turn back into gold and to transform into a manta ray. Once it did she told it to fly over to Sandy and circle him. Once it finished circling him twice, her smile got bigger and she looked at him from the corner of her eye, which was the best she could do considering she had to tilt her head up. _"If this hadn't happened...I would've never met you."_

At her words, Sandy actually felt his heart skip a beat and his jaw drop just slightly. He was completely speechless. Well, as speechless as he could be anyway. Her words touched him all the way to his heart, and he was confused more than ever on his reactions when it came to her. For a brief moment he wondered if maybe Jack and North were right, and he was just being oblivious to himself, but he quickly threw that thought away for now, deeming it impossible to develop feelings for someone after just two nights. However, no matter how much he tried to throw that pesky thought away, it kept coming back.

While North continued to carefully and cautiously look over the stitches, he took the time to reflect on his actions and feelings towards her. He remembered that at first, she was just a spirit that Manny entrusted him with and told him to look after and train, and thinking on it now, Manny knew what her powers would be. _'Cryptic Ass!'_ He thought as he continued to survey his actions. He then remembered the heart wrenching panic that filled his heart, and now that he looks back, he probably did overreact a bit, but she was hurt, murdered! No one deserved to have to wake up confused after experiencing something like that. Then, he looked back at when she was using the dream sand. He could feel it in his entire body. Not that he would tell her that right now, but he did. Through her using his dream sand he got to know her soul somehow. He couldn't explain it even if he wanted to, but it was like it connected them through the sand somehow. He felt her kindness, compassion, warmth, heartache, pain, curiosity, fascination, and all in all her whole personality. However, he was also able to feel things he, the Guardian of Dreams, shouldn't have been able to feel like he did when she took hold of his dream sand. He felt her Hope, Wonder, Joy, and for a brief moment, it was as if she was recalling fond Memories.

All of that, he found quite strange, and fascinating at the same time, and it certainly made him want to spend more time with her, but then he remembered when they danced. He had never felt like that when dancing with anyone. It may have been millions of years ago, but he would've definitely remembered having fun while dancing a waltz and feeling free, joyous, relaxed, and content.

Brought back to the present, he regarded how he reacted to her stitches and when he realized her powers. If there was absolutely nothing there, then there would be no reason for him to blush, there would be no reason for him to feel so heartbroken over her injuries. Pity at best is what he should've felt. A teacher feeling pity for his student wouldn't be uncommon, and he was her teacher. Manny charged him with that task. However, he felt overwhelmed when he saw the extent of her wounds, and then she said she was glad it happened because she got to meet him.

After looking back on everything and feeling everything in his heart as clearly as if it was still happening, his eyes widened and his breathing slowed as he looked at Mage on the bed, who just got finished being examined and realized that perhaps North and Jack were really and truly right. He remembers a long time ago when he first arrived at the gate for the heart song festival, Cupid examined his heart like she did to every new participant, and she still does. Although, the examination was to give them hints at who their romantic heart song would be, in case they met them outside of the festival. She would tell someone that their heart song would either be love at first sight, true love, slow building love, or oblivious love. She had told him it would be true love.

Even with that, and his heart now skipping several frantic beats, he wasn't about to dare to hope or even dream that it could be that easy for him after six hundred years, so he calmed himself and tried to breathe normally, willing away the thoughts that would be grand and amazing if the feelings were real, but he could not force him to believe they were. Not true love, but he has heard of other spirits developing small romantic feelings for other spirits that were not their love song. He came to the conclusion that there was a possibility he was developing what Jack called a crush outside his heart song. This revelation brought forth a whole new set of problems for him, because if he was to act on it, and then someday found his heart song, he would risk hurting Mage, and that was the last thing he wanted. So, once Mage got up from the bed and faced him with a reassuring smile, he became determined to not let her know his feelings if only to protect her heart at least, if he should some day find his heart song.

_"Sandy, are you alright? You look like you're deep in thought."_ Mage questioned as she got off the medical bed.

_"That's because I was."_

_"Oh? What were you thinking about?"_

_"About you."_ He said honestly once again. _"The stitches...they worry me. I didn't know that your wounds were that bad..."_

_"I know, but it's fine. Please don't worry about it."_ She assured him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. _"Come on, North says breakfast is still warm!"_


	8. Chapter 8

After they ate breakfast, North decided to show Mage around the workshop considering it was to be her new home, and decided that Sandy should help since he was able to say what she was thinking and it saved her from having to constantly write. _"So...you're basically my translator then?"_ Mage asked with an amused smirk.

Sandy returned it with a shrug and an amused look of his own. _"I think I've been that already, don't you think?"_

_"Yeah, good point. So...when is the heart song festival? You said next month, but you didn't say what day."_

_"It's in four days on February 1st. That way Cupid can still get her stuff done in time for Valentine's day."_

_"Huh...what should I expect?"_

_"Well...since you will be new, she will be observing your heart. She used to only do it to the participants, but five years ago she started doing it for everyone that went through the gate."_

_"Observing my heart?"_

_"Telling you what type of love you have. You'll understand when you get there. Now, come on, North is growing impatient." _Sandy told her with a silent fit of giggles.

_"He expects to show me the entire workshop?"_

_"I guess so. This IS going to be your home now, so it kind of makes sense to show you around."_

"Are you two done speaking mind? Come! Grand tour!"

After about four hours worth of tour, Mage and North went back to the dining hall with Sandy following closely behind after getting one of her notebooks and pen, and they sat down for lunch. "So, Mage, you will be going to heart song festival?" North asked as he helped mage get some strawberries onto her plate.

Once she got six strawberries she wrote, _**"Yes, I think it will be wonderful to hear all the different songs!"**_

"Oh, it is! It is big celebration and those who find their heart song stay afterwards for food, music and games! Now, do you know risks of going?"

North's words got Sandy's attention, and it placed a slight pang in his chest. He hadn't thought about it, and watched as Mage started writing. _**"No, what risks are there?"**_

"That you will hear your heart song as well."

_**"Oh...I hadn't thought of that. Would that be a bad thing?"**_

"No, but if you do, you may want to live with them."

_**"Will I be kicked out?"**_

"No! Of course not! You are family!"

_**"Family? How?"**_

"Well, I...I can't explain it...it's like I am taking care of daughter...anyway..." North cleared his throat and gave Mage some black berries. "...yes you are family, and I also treat Jack like son...so he would be like your brother I guess...anyway, still losing track of mind! What I mean to say is...you would never be kicked out."

**_"Well...then if I do hear my heart song...they're just going to have to deal with me living here. This is my home. Besides, I just got a full tour. It would be a shame to waste it."_**

"Shame indeed!" North bellowed out with a laugh as he handed Mage two sandwich triangles.

_**"Thank you for the food! It all looks so good!"**_

"I'm glad you enjoy it!" North said honestly and after that they ate joyfully, but quietly.

Once she excused herself she heard Sandy clear his throat. _"Sandy, is everything alright?"_ She asked as she turned around to see him jump down from the table.

_"No, I'm just sorry I didn't mention that earlier. I should've said that you may hear your heart song...that's all."_

Mage smiled at him and shook her head. _"Don't worry about it. That's why there's participants and observers. I should've guessed it could happen. I doubt it will."_

_"You should never doubt about a thing like that."_

_"Then why have you?"_

_"Wha- I haven't..."_

_"Sandy, I can hear your voice...when you told me that you hadn't heard your heart song in six hundred years, you sounded as if there was a 'and probably never will' after it."_

_"Yeah...there might've been, but I can still hope..."_

_"What made you want to search for your romantic heart song anyway?"_

_"I...got jealous of the others, and I wanted someone to love as well...still do. I tease Jack and North about being hopeless romantics...but I don't really have a leg to stand on in that argument. I'm just as bad. Anyway, it's about time for me to head out again. Did you want to join me? For some reason, I think we're going to end up working together anyway."_

"I would love too!" She quickly looked around and saw North was still eating, and she grabbed her pen and paper and wrote, **_"Sandy and I are going to go give children their dreams. He invited me to go out, may I?_**"

"Again with the manners! Such a good quality. You don't have to ask me to go with him. You two share a power, and you are first of your kind. If you wish to go, then go. You already said you consider this place home. I think that's enough for me to believe you'll be back."

Mage jumped up and down and gave North a big hug, but as soon as she realized what she did she stepped back a bit, embarrassed by her actions and quickly wrote, _**"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me...I think I've started to think of you as family too...It's nice."**_

"Never apologize for giving me hugs. I am often told to hold back on hugging. I love hugs, and yes...it is nice. Now go, before you are behind on schedule. It is good to find things to do!"

_"Hey, Mage...you want to see North freak out a bit?"_

"Sandy, why do you wear mischievous expression?" North questioned as he noticed his friend suddenly acting suspicious.

_"Well...do you?"_ He questioned again, his smirk widening.

_"North is a good man, and even though I kind of see him like a father...what did you have in mind?"_

_"That window right there..."_ Sandy said as he pointed to the largest window at the end of the dining hall. _"...it opens. Do you trust me?"_

_"Of course."_

The simple answer sent a small shiver up his short spine and he found he couldn't help the smile that played on his face. "Sandy, what are you planning?" North questioned cautiously as suspicion grew in his eyes.

Sandy then took Mage's hand and pulled her to the window, commanding his sand to open it, once it did, he quickly questioned again, _"Do you trust me!?"_

_"YES!"_ She laughed out in her mind.

_"Good!"_ Sandy then pulled her until she fell out of the window, but he quickly caught her with a mini dream sand cloud.

"SHOSTAKOVICH!" North shouted and ran for the window, only to find she was unharmed and Sandy was thrown into a fit of laughter at his worried expression. "Oh, just you wait, Sandy! I will pay you back for prank! I always do!" He spat with a slight bit of mirth in his eyes as he closed the window.

_"Oh!"_ Sandy laughed out as he brought himself up to stand. _"That was good!"_ He breathed out with a wide smile. Then, he turned to see Mage looking at him with an amused smile, and he was reminded of just how much trust she really did just put in him at a spur of the moment. _"Thank you for trusting me. That can't have been easy."_

_"Actually, for you, it was. I feel like I can trust you easily. Besides, we're friends and what's friendship without a little trust?"_

_"Being dragged out of an open window from a building built on a cliff is a lot more than a little trust."_

_"It was fun, and I knew you would catch me. Think of it as an intense trust fall, and we succeeded."_

Sandy chuckled lightly as he shook his head in disbelief. _"You are indeed unique. So, what do you say we go to North America?"_

_"Is there a choice?"_

_"There's always a choice, some people sleep regardless and like I said, Manny helps me when I go out, and when I rest. However, he can't do what we can."_

_"We!? I'm going to be helping!?"_

_"Yes, I would like to see what you give the children." _He told her as they quickly made their way to North America.

Once they got there Sandy gave her a soft smile and allowed his sand to do what they normally do. _"Alright, now this will be on a much larger scale than what you've been doing, so just do what comes naturally. Your imagination is powerful, let it work with you. No less and no more. It does not work for you, nor do you work for it. It is a part of you and you are a part of it. Now...create."_

Mage took in his words, and allowed her imagination to connect with the sand. She didn't know how she could do that, but she could, and it felt like pleasant electricity all over her body when the two met. She closed her eyes and felt her heart and soul swell with happiness and well wishes. She then opened her eyes and gracefully jumped around the sand cloud, pushing her own sand tendrils from it, which ended up swirling and wrapping around Sandy's. They also spread in much more intricate swirls, similar to Sandy's vest in the dream they shared, and it was almost as if her dream sand was dancing with his.

As she continued to gracefully move with the sand, Sandy found himself staring in awe at her. He was breathless at how much of a natural she truly was, and how carefree she seemed when she used the dream sand. Suddenly, Sandy felt a lump in his throat and had to swallow it down as his heart started to speed up at a dangerous pace when her smile widened with her eyes closed. _'She's...she's beautiful. Truly stunning.'_ He thought to himself, slightly breathless at his own words. He had called her voice beautiful when he heard it in his mind, but that was a friend saying something about their friend was beautiful. This, he knew in his heart, was different. _'I...I really have developed romantic feelings for her...in such a short time! That's impossible!'_ Sandy thought to himself as he watched her continue her interesting dance. He held a hand to his heart and felt how it was pounding against his chest, and it was similar to when they were dancing. She was breathtaking and beautiful and graceful all at once. The more he watched the more he realized that there may be a bigger problem than realizing he has a small crush. _'What about the heart song festival?' _He thought to himself, worried that he would accidentally slip up and his feelings would show._ 'What if she hears her heart song? What if I hear mine? What will happen? I know spirits have loved without a heart song...but it didn't work out for them if they heard their heart song later down the line. What would happen then? What am I supposed to do!?'_

When she opened her eyes, he felt the sand return and immediately tried to compose himself. _"Sandy! I felt it! I felt my dream sand blend with yours and it gave the children dreams! I could feel it! I felt it in my heart I think! It was amazing! Is that how it always is for you?" _

Sandy smiled at her excitement and willed his speeding heart to slow as he nodded his head. _"You preformed beautifully. It seems you can also give dreams. You may even be able to cut my time of dream giving in half."_

_"That would be awesome! That way we could spend more time together!"_

_'Oh my heart!'_ He mentally screamed. He was all at once excited, happy, and joyful, but also sorrowful, guilt ridden, and worried at how this would all turn out. _"Yes, that would be nice."_ He told her with as much composure that he could while his heart decided to speed up again. _'What am I going to do? The festival is three days away now!'_ He thought once more before they made their way across the rest of North America.


	9. Chapter 9

When they returned to the North Pole the only noise either of them heard was the sound of tiny bells jingling from the elves and the yeti who were still working on the upcoming Christmas preparations. Mage let out a silent yawn with a stretch. _"I'm exhausted...but that was so amazing!"_

_"Now you see why I'm tired all the time."_ Sandy joked and received a sleepy nod from her. _"Come on."_ He chuckled out. _"let's get you to bed." _

_"No arguments here!"_ She said with a slight smile as she walked to her room, grabbed a nightgown from the closet and went to the bathroom, not realizing that Sandy had followed her into the room.

When she came out, Sandy immediately noticed the nightgown she was wearing was gold, and his heart made a loud thump against his chest. Not only was it gold but the sleeves were made of lace and although the sleeves were short, they complimented her freckles rather well in his opinion. _"A golden nightgown?"_ Sandy questioned, trying to put on a smirk, and not the slack jawed expression his face wanted to make.

_"Ah..."_ She said as she looked down at her nightgown. _"...yeah, I think my favorite color may have changed from purple to gold. I may be a bit biased though, considering my powers and magic." _

Sandy chuckled low, nodding his head. _"Perhaps indeed. So, do you want another dancing dream?"_

_"Hmm...No, I don't think I do."_

_"Oh, was I that bad of a dance partner?"_

_"No, like I said..."_ She told him as she crawled into bed, and under her covers. _"...you are an excellent dance partner. I just wanted to take a walk in a forest on a windy and partly cloudy day."_

_"That's very specific."_

_"Well...I was going to attempt a lucid dream."_

_"You've attempted it before? It didn't just happen by accident?"_

_"I have...it's how I learned I could do it. Once I realized that I was dreaming I was able to take hold. I wanted to do that...if that's okay."_

_"Fine by me."_ Sandy said with a shrug of his shoulders as he gently sprinkled dream sand over her eyes. Once she was asleep the image of her in a forest appeared overhead, and he noticed that the trees had a slight tint of green to them. _"I guess it worked. Sweet Dreams, Mage." _Sandy then made his way to his own room, into his own bed, and allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

_**oOoOoOoOoOo**_

Once again, Sandy knew he was dreaming, mainly due to the feel of his body, and the fact that he could feel his vocal chords would work if he spoke. When he opened his eyes in the dream, he realized that he was pulled into another dream of Mage's. He looked around, but couldn't find her. "Mage?" He called out cautiously.

"Oh! Sandy you made it!"

Sandy heard the voice come from above him and instinctively looked up, and his breath became hitched in his throat. _'An angel...'_ He whispered to himself in his mind as Mage flew down to the ground with perfectly white wings. Soon, they disappeared, almost as if they weren't there in the first place, but he's pretty sure he'll never forget about how she looked with them. He cleared his throat and gave a smile. "You made yourself some wings?"

"Yes, I've done it before and it was fun, but now that you're here...I don't need them." She told him with a wide smile.

Sandy couldn't help the wide grin that appeared on his face. He then took note of her features. She wasn't wearing a dress or a nightgown, or even the clothes she was wearing that day. She was wearing blue jean shorts, a yellow tank top, and she was barefoot. Sandy let out an amused sigh, and decided that since this was a lucid dream that he would change his clothes as well. He closed his eyes and could tell his body was glowing as the clothes altered themselves. When he opened his eyes he saw an astounded Mage. He then looked down at his clothes and saw that he was wearing blue jeans, a black belt, and a blue T-shirt. "Huh...none of this is actually my color." He said as he then also noticed that he was barefoot as well. Then, he noticed that his shirt was actually showing off his well toned muscles on his arms and torso.

"You look good though!" Mage said quickly before Sandy had the opportunity to try and change anything else about it.

"Really?" Sandy asked and then immediately berated himself. Lucid dream or not, honesty was still a powerful thing in a dream.

"Yes! You look handsome!" She told him with pure honesty shining in her eyes, but Sandy's eyes only widened in shock from her words.

"Well, thank you. So, you pulled me into your lucid dream...what did you have in mind?"

"Actually, I thought...perhaps since you're usually the dream GIVER you can be the dream TAKER this time. You can take my lucid dream and do what you want with it. I'm giving you control of the dream."

"You want me to take control of the dream?"

"Yes, I mean...I was kind of curious what you might dream about if you had the choice. If you don't want to that's fine, but..."

Without needing any more prompting, Sandy waved his hand and changed the scenery immensely. They weren't just in between the earth and the moon this time, they were among stars and galaxies, and shooting stars flying this way and that way. "This is what I like to dream of." He told her and since he was allowed to take control of the dream, he waved his hand at his clothing and changed it to what it was when they first shared a dream. Then, he did the same thing with her clothing and focused on making it into a dress he thought would look good on her. As soon as he did it, he instantly became breathless at how she looked and his his eyes went wide. _'By the stars! She's...Why am I doing this to myself!?'_ He thought frantically as he looked at how her hair was put up into a neat bun with a small tiara resting on her head. How the diamond earrings brought out the red in her eyes. He then looked to see that the necklace she wore the first time was there, but then he looked at the gown he had imagined. It was a beautiful golden ball gown that didn't poof out too much, but was just the right size for waltzing, and it held the same intricate design his vest had, but in a much more graceful and delicate fashion. There were also golden flecks of glitter that grouped together at the bottom of her dress, making it look like a collection of golden stardust.

"Wow...this is incredible! You really..." Before she finished she noticed that Sandy's outfit was different and that her's felt different as well. She looked down and noticed that she was wearing the most beautiful ball gown she had ever seen. "This is incredible!" She repeated once more.

_'Yes you are...'_ Sandy almost said, and was extremely grateful it remained a thought. Ever since he found that there was a possibility that he has started to develop feelings for her, he hadn't been able to stop his thoughts. "This was where I used to be all the time. I used to travel among the stars and unlock the wishes of stationary or shooting stars. I used to move them around some too. I like to come here when I dream to just sit and watch everything go by. Although, I mostly come here alone, and I never had a need to talk until now, but this..." He gestured to all of the stars and galaxies surrounding them. "...was my domain once."

"Sandy, this is..." Mage trailed off as she looked around in pure awe at everything that surrounded her. It felt like they were on Sandy's cloud, but they weren't. However, it was just as soft and comforting and she could see the stars below her too. "This is beautiful!" She finally told him when she turned her gaze back to him.

"Thank you. So...there's a reason I altered your dress...you may not have wanted me to give you a dream about dancing, but I was wondering..."

"Yes I would love to dance with you. What song are you going to play?"

"Actually, I want you to pick the song."

"How many songs do you know?"

"After attending the heart song festival for so long? Nearly all of them." He told her with a soft chuckle.

"Hmm, I've always wanted to dance to a song called Vanilla Twilight by a band called Owl City."

"Then dance we shall. I know that song." Sandy stepped a little bit closer to her and then bowed low with a hand held out. "May I have this dance, my lady."

A blush rushed to her cheeks as she smiled and took his hand. "Yes, you may."

Sandy then placed his hand carefully and gently on her hip and lightly closed his hand around hers as she brought her hand onto his shoulder, and as soon as he smiled at her, the music started and he began to lead her through the dance, picking up and slowing down his pace when necessary and twirling her when the music felt right to him for the twirl which was at least four times during the song. They repeated the dance once more with slightly different steps, but Sandy guided her into keeping the rhythm.

Once the song ended they separated and looked at each other as they breathed out breathlessly with smiles on their faces. "I think I may be developing an unhealthy addiction to dancing with you."

"You're not the only one." She laughed out. "I don't think I could ever get tired of dancing with you."

"Well, apparently you can..." He chuckled out lightly as he still held onto her hand gently. Quickly realizing what he was doing, he carefully removed his hand and put both of his hands in his pockets. "...because you seem to be a little out of breath."

"Because it was breath taking. Honestly it was, and dancing among the stars? I'm pretty sure not everyone can say they've done that."

Sandy let out another chuckle as he looked down to his shoes and gave a nod. "No, they most certainly cannot."

"You know...I'm glad we can do this."

"Do what exactly, Mage?"

"The dancing and the dreaming."

A sharp pang stabbed his chest while his heart skipped more than a few beats as those words were too close to his heart song. and only served as a further reminder of the predicament he was currently in. However, he couldn't deny that he felt the same. It felt good to dance with her. He felt more relaxed, happier, and carefree at the same time. "I'm glad we can too. At least in this form I don't have two left feet."

"Do you really have two left feet in your other form?" She asked with a smirk and quirked brow.

"No!" He laughed out. "It's just an expression."

"I know that...but I thought you were serious for a moment." She told him with an honest smile.

"No, just simply joking. I can't dance like this in my other form...it would be difficult. I'm just under four feet tall in my other form."

"Well, I like both versions of you if it makes you feel better."

Sandy nodded his head and gave a soft smile. "It does actually. So, I don't know if you know this...but we've been asleep for about three hours..."

"What!? No way!" She shouted with a dropped jaw in surprise.

"Yes way. Time moves differently when you're dreaming. Even lucid dreams move differently. It's almost time for me to wake up, but you can continue to dream if you would like."

"No...it's no fun without you."

"What about your angel wings?" Sandy asked curiously, raising a confused brow. _'Hadn't she said she liked flying with the wings?'_

"Turns out dancing with you is far better than having wings."

_'This woman...'_ He thought with widened eyes. "That's surprising, I must admit."

"Hmm...even so...I..."

_**"Mage, wake up!" **_They heard North's voice call out.

_**"Sandy! Sandy! Get up!" **_They then heard Bunny's voice.

They both felt like they were sucked out of their dream as they separately woke up.

_**oOoOoOoOoOo**_

Mage gave North a questioning look and he let out a heavy sigh. "I will explain after you get dressed...but hurry."

_**oOoOoOoOoOo**_

_"What's wrong, Bunny?"_ Sandy asked, feeling slightly frazzled from being so abruptly woken up.

"It's Pitch...look just...come on! North had to activate the lights."

_**oOoOoOoOoOo**_

Once Mage was dressed in light purple sweater, black jeans, and the black and white sneakers she was starting to grow fond of, she darted out of room and found Sandy waiting outside her door. _"Sandy, what's going on?"_

_"I don't know! Bunny said something about Pitch. Let's hurry."_

They both rushed to meet the others in front of the globe, and Mage immediately noticed all of the furious looks. It made the tension in the air almost tangible. Bunny was wielding boomerangs, Jack's staff was being clutched so tightly his knuckles were whiter than usual, North had his swords out, and Tooth looked battle ready and alert. "Ah! There you are! Come, this is emergency."

Sandy walked with her to the others and held up a question mark symbol. _"What happened while we were asleep?"_

"Pitch went after our homes." Bunny spat out. "He sent what little nightmare sand he had left and tried to trash my Warren. What he couldn't use his nightmares for, he used his shadows."

"He tried to kidnap my fairies again!" Tooth screamed with a fury that echoed through the halls.

"He tried to kill me with his scythe...again...and when I come here...he's trying to kill the yeti with his nightmares and shadows." Jack huffed out a frustrated breath.

"He said before he left that the first place he's going to target after getting us all together again was Burgess...that's where we defeated him last time. I did not expect him to be back so soon."

_"What's the plan?"_ Sandy questioned with a determined fierceness that shocked Mage.

"We get there before he does any damage. Come, to the sleigh!"

"Nope! Taking my tunnels!" Before North could grab Bunny, he made a tunnel appear and jumped through it.

"We must hurry!"

_"Wait...I get to ride in Santa's sleigh?"_ Mage asked excitedly almost forgetting the situation.

_"Yes, and although it's fun, you need to stay alert. You haven't been trained to fight...so you'll have to be cautious and try and make it through this battle...we may need you during this battle. Last time, he killed me. This time..."_

_"You have me, and I can affect the dream sand." _Mage finished with a confident and determined smirk.

_"Exactly. Now let's go!"_


	10. Chapter 10

Needless to say, Mage had a great time on the sleigh ride, and thankfully nothing happened until they landed on the pond in Burgess. They all immediately got out and were met with seven kids. "Jamie! What happened?" Jack questioned urgently.

"Pitch! He came back, Jack!"

_"Wait...he can see us? I thought we were spirits..."_

_"They can see me, Jack, Bunny, North, and Tooth...you...have to be believed in to be seen by them."_

_"Hmm...Sandy...do these kids trust you?"_

_"I assume so, why?"_

_"Because I'm going to try something...now do YOU trust ME?"_ She questioned with a sly smirk.

"Sandy, who are you looking at?"

Sandy looked at Mage and smiled with a trusting gaze as he made a ball of dream sand appear. Mage took it and transformed it into small dragons. Then she morphed them into manta rays. After that she turned them into tiny bunnies. "Hey now." Bunny laughed out.

"Wow! Sandy that's cool...but what does this have to do with Pitch?" Jamie asked curiously. Sandy smiled at him and pointed at himself and then the sand, shaking his head. "You didn't do that?" Another shake of his head with a wider smile. "Then who did? I thought you were the only sandman." Sandy nodded his head and looked at North to give the boy an explanation.

"We have new spirit. Not a Guardian yet, but she lives with me at North Pole. She is like family. Her name is Mage...she can do the same things that Sandy can. What you just saw...was her handy work."

"Really?" Cupcake asked as she stepped forward. "Could she make a unicorn?"Mage smiled and gathered the sand together to make a unicorn, but not only that, she touched it's body and gave it color. She made the body white, and the horn pink. "Whoa!" Cupcake shouted as the unicorn nudged her face. She then looked at the other Guardians and noticed that there was something sparkling. "Mage?" She asked carefully, and suddenly the sparkles were gone, and in their place stood a woman smiling at her. "Guys! She's real!"

The other kids stepped forward, and then suddenly gasped as Mage appeared right before their eyes. "Whoa! Her eyes are so red!" Caleb said with an excited face. "So how did you meet the Guardians!?" He questioned, forgetting Pitch was trying to find them.

Mage frowned and used the sand in a way Sandy mostly used. She held it above her head and formed a speech bubble and made more sand form a large 'X' over it. "You can't talk?" Jamie asked with saddened eyes, and Mage shook her head, and then used the sand again, forming the letters 'O' and 'K' one after the other. "You can't talk...but that's okay?" Mage touched her nose and pointed at Jamie with a proud smile. "Wow...that's interesting...oh! Pitch! I almost forgot! He wasn't going to wait for us to go to bed this time! He came after us while we were playing in the snow! He tried to hurt us with his shadows!"

"Do you know where he's at, Mate?" Bunny questioned quickly.

"He's looking for us." Cupcake said with a frightened expression.

"And I've found you!" Pitch's voice cackled behind the children as he came forward on a Nightmare horse. "And who's this? A new Guardian?"

"She is not new Guardian." North confirmed with a bitter tone to his voice, but Mage knew it wasn't faced towards her, so she wasn't going to ask about it. Not that she could.

"Oh, then you won't mind if I dispose of her? She seems like a fairly young spirit. Surely she won't be missed!" Just as Pitch rushed forward with a scythe, Mage took hold of the dream sand unicorn and formed it into the first weapon that came to mind to get the scythe away from Pitch. Whips. Once formed, it caught everyone off guard as she used it against him with the same amount of fluidity and expertise that Sandy used. Eventually after whipping at him enough, startling him, she finally got the whip to wrap around the scythe. She then looked at the children and used a small amount of sand to make an image of a boy running followed by an explanation point.

"Don't have to tell us twice!" Jamie shouted in awe. "Let's go!" Jamie motioned for his friends to follow him and they did.

Mage then handed Sandy back his sand, and noticed the proud wide grin and wide eyes filled with awe and wonder. _"Nice choice of weapon."_

_"Thank you."_

_"I use the same thing."_

_"Ah...so you're a bit biased in your opinion."_

_"Perhaps just a little."_

"How...how in all of the stars in the sky can she control dream sand!?"

Mage looked to where the scythe was and her eyes widened as she noticed it was made out of sand. _'Nightmare sand.'_ She thought. _'I wonder...'_ She used the same amount of focus as she began to manipulate the nightmare sand just as easily as she could with dream sand. "It seems..." North trailed off with his own wonder. "...she can control more than dream sand."

She took the nightmare sand and formed it into a tight ball. Then, she tapped her finger against it, making it glow a blinding gold. Once the light faded she handed it back to Sandy for inspection, noticing the astounded expression he wore. _"You...you purified the sand! How did you know how to do that?"_

_"I remembered something I had heard before. Nightmares are dreams too...they're just scarier and twisted...so...I imagined it wasn't scary and thought of how using the dream sand felt compared to the nightmare sand. The nightmare sand is heavier. Almost like carrying a burden, but in a physical form."_

_"You truly are remarkable, Mage. Not even I can affect the Nightmare sand."_

"No, you can't..." Pitch said as he read the symbols over Sandy's head perfectly. "...which leads to the question...how can she!?" Pitch asked in anger as he sent Nightmare horses after them as well as shadows.

_"Mage, use that sand! It's yours now. You have enough to make your own dream cloud if you want, and from then...your sand should be close to limitless!"_ Sandy told her as he took out his whips.

All around her, she watched as North used his sabers, Tooth punched them and flew through them, Jack used his winter magic, Bunny used his boomerangs. _'They're attacking the soldiers...not the general...'_ Her eyes then narrowed at Pitch who merely stood watching the fighting. _'If sandy can make people fall asleep...'_ She took the pure ball of sand and made a sand cloud like Sandy had said, and she took a small ball of sand from it, forming it into the shape and design of a baseball and threw it directly at Pitch's face, causing him to fall flat on his back with butterflies flying above his head. As soon as she did that, the shadows faded instantly and the nightmare horses were reduced to ordinary black sand. Mage then gathered all of the nightmare sand and purified it like she had earlier and added it to her dream cloud.

"Well, if I knew it was gonna be that easy...we would've just sent ya here with Sandy." Bunny laughed out.

Mage shook her head as she pointed to Pitch. _"It's not over yet."_ She told Sandy, and earned a worried expression from Sandy.

_"Mage...you're worrying me, what are you going to do?"_ Sandy questioned as he lowered his cloud.

"Sandy? What's wrong?" Bunny asked as he noticed a worried, almost frightened expression appear on Sandy's face.

"Sandy?" North questioned as he noticed the look of fear cross Sandy's features.

_"Sandy...I need you to let me pull him into a dream."_

_"NO!"_ Sandy shouted with his dream sand. As soon as he shouted his answer in pure heartache like he's never felt before, Sandy quickly, almost instantly went over everything that happened between them. How his heart had felt since the beginning, all of the times she made him laugh or smile more than usual, how he felt when he danced with her, how he felt when she comforted him when _she_ was the one getting treated by North, and how he, with what she was trying to ask him, felt genuinely terrified that he would lose her and everything she is and everything they shared together. All of that made him instantly realize that it was more than a simple crush, and he didn't want to lose her. The thought of it nearly had him doubling over as his heart started to ache even further. With everything that was happening, he couldn't bring himself to even care about finding his heart song, someone he barely knew, when someone who quickly became important to him was basically asking him to help her go on a suicide mission, that if Pitch should win the battle...would either kill her or turn her. Either way she would be gone forever if whatever she was planning to do inside the dream failed.

"What? What did she say?" Jack asked, now noticing the complete terror in Sandy's eyes, and that alone scared him a bit, because he had the closest view of Sandy when Pitch killed him and he stood proudly accepting his fate. He wasn't afraid, but this...whatever she said, he was terrified.

_"Sandy...I have to. He needs to be stopped, and if I pull him into a dream, I could perhaps talk to him...or fight him on my terms...but if you won't give me dream sand...I'll do it myself..."_ She started to take some dream sand and was about to sprinkle it on her face when suddenly her arm was stopped. She looked at Sandy and gasped when she saw the tears streaming down his face.

Sandy's heart ached more and more with each second. It felt like it was being slowly and painfully stabbed and shattered to pieces at what Mage was planning on doing. _"Please! I beg you! Don't do this! You don't know what could happen! He could kill you! I know this for a fact!"_

_"You're right, I don't know what could happen, but I can take a guess at what could happen if I don't try. You defeated him a year ago, and he came back trying to destroy everything and even tried to hurt the children. I REFUSE to allow children to be hurt or scared. I didn't get to be myself, I didn't get to be as creative as I wanted...and if he's hurting them...they won't either. I can't let anyone do that to another child! Especially to the point where they're practically terrified and had to run away from having fun. I just...I can't let that happen. Sandy..."_ Mage said as she took both of his hands. _"Do you trust me?"_

_"I..."_ Sandy choked out a sob only she could hear, but everyone could see his tears and it unnerved the other Guardians. _"Yes...I trust you."_

"What the bloody hell is goin' on!?" Bunny asked with his ears flat against his head. He had never, in all the long years he's known Sandy, seen him react to anything like that. It was breaking his own heart witnessing it.

Sandy didn't answer, because he knew they would react the same way he did, and if he were to be honest, Mage was right. He needed to be stopped. Not shoved back into a hole, but dealt with completely. He took his dream sand as he allowed his tears to fall and sprinkled some over her eyes, and helped her to lay down on the dream cloud. "Sandy! What did you do!? Tell us what's going on!"

Once Sandy saw the forest above her head appear and noticed the green tint he let out a silent sob. _"She's..."_ He started with his symbols displaying themselves in a sorrowful manner. _"...she's going to pull him into her dream...like she did me. She's going to try and talk to him...alone...in her domain. She's either going to try and convince him to stop...or fight him."_

"No! She can't!" Bunny shouted as he stepped forward, but was stopped by the sound of a whip cracking against the ever frozen ice. "Sandy?"

_"No one...and I mean absolutely no one...is to interrupt her sleep. You try, and you deal with me."_

"Sandy..." North started with sympathetic eyes that were also widened at Sandy's behavior. "We are all concerned for Mage...but I am thinking...I am thinking that you are more concerned than any of us combined."

"What? No...he's..." Bunny could tell what North was trying to say, because after all, they shared the friendship heart song. "Sandy, have ya...have ya fallen in love with her?"

Before Sandy could answer, Manny's moon beam suddenly appeared, catching the other Guardians' attention, and shined his light on Sandy, making Sandy glow bright, and the glow soon grew taller and taller. Then, they heard Manny's voice. _"Sandy, I feel for you, my friend...I am sorry for the heartache you are suffering and I hope this makes up for it in some sort of fashion...I am deeply sorry I have not done this sooner...it took me centuries to find out I could, considering I knew what you really looked like...and I only found out I could do this for you...last year. I am sorry, my friend." _The Guardians then turned their gaze back to the glowing bright light and saw, not Sandy, but a man that was well dressed, looking regal, and slightly taller than Bunny. He was thin, but muscular, and his golden hair was neatly combed back, just barely touching his shoulders. He wore the same outfit he wore in his and Mage's shared dreams, but they didn't know that.

"Sandy?"

Sandy looked down at his form, looking at his hands, and seeing his original skin tone. He patted down his clothes to make sure this was real and not a dream, and to his surprise it was very real. "I-I'm...m-me a-again!" He stuttered out through his tears.

"YOU CAN SPEAK!?" The Guardians shouted the question in unison.

"I..." Sandy spoke, and then he realized, he really did speak. He spun to face the Guardians and held his hand up to his mouth and a giddy smile appeared on his face. "I can speak again!" He shouted victoriously, but then he remembered that Mage was asleep on his dream cloud and quickly turned around to face her. "And she's not even here to witness it."

"S-Sandy...that's really you? I mean..."

"Yes, Bunny." Sandy answered honestly, not taking his eyes off of Mage's dream which showed her searching in the forest. "This is what I originally looked like before coming to Earth. The Earth's atmosphere and gravity affected my being among other things...and it affected my speech."

Bunny nodded his head in understanding. When he came to the Earth and formed it, his body got altered as well. His fur color had changed, and his power was decreased. "So um..." He started, still curious as to what North was trying to imply. "...back to my question...Sandy are you? I mean...with Mage have you...?"

Sandy turned to face Mage, and smiled softly and fondly as he knelt down next to her in the most regal way any of them had ever seen, as he gently brushed her hair out of her face. "Yes..." He breathed out joyfully and desperately. "...by the _stars..._" He continued as a few more tears fell from his face. "...I am in love with her."

"But...what about the heart song festival?"

"I..." Sandy took an intake of breath before sighing out, "...guess they'll have to find a way to deal with disappointment." He told them with a saddened smile. "I will attend, but if I find my heart song...then who ever it is will just have to accept that I'm not available. Even if Mage doesn't want to be with me...I will always want to be with her, and will be content to just be by her side as a trusted friend. However, if I participate and no one answers again, I will never attend another one for as long as I live. Not even as an observer."

"You...you would swear off the heart song festival?" Tooth questioned with wide eyes, still completely and thoroughly caught off guard by Sandy's original form. In her eyes she saw someone who was like a prince. Regal, fair, handsome, and just.

"For her? Yes."

"But...what about _her?_" Jack asked as he stepped to stand next to Sandy, leaning against his staff once at his side. "She's stuck in a dream with Pitch...is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't know. I honestly have no idea...and just the thought that something bad might happen to her...it terrifies me, but I have to believe she'll be fine."

"So...we wait?" Jack questioned with widened eyes.

"So, we wait." Sandy confirmed with a sad smile as he conjured a dream cloud and sat criss crossed on it.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Meanwhile in Mage's dream world (From when she started dreaming)**_

When Mage opened her eyes, she was in the forest that her and Sandy were in last night before he changed it to it's galaxy setting. However, the forest was different this time. The trees were a darker shade, the sun was behind dark and ominous clouds. "Pitch Black?" She called out. When she didn't get an answer she remembered what Sandy told her. Even though it was for dream sand, she figured it was the same principle in a lucid dream. She allowed her focus and her imagination to become one with her dream and allowed instinct to take control.

She started walking into the forest that no longer had a set trail, and she searched throughout the trees. "Pitch Black?"

After what felt like five minutes of searching she noticed an area of the forest that was darker than the rest. "Pitch Black?" She called out again, as she calmly walked closer to the darkness. "Are you here?"

"Who are you?" A voice asked from behind her.

She turned around and saw someone who looked nothing like the man they just fought, but did look like him at the same time. His hair was shorter than Sandy's but neatly combed back in a similar way. He wore a black and golden cape with black and silver armor underneath it. To her, it was like seeing a king in a battle uniform. "Are you Pitch Black?"

"Yes, and you are the spirit who threw a dream baseball at me. What are you doing in my mind?"

"Actually, you were pulled into my lucid dream...my domain in a way I guess...and I am giving you half of the control. I wanted to speak with you."

"Why should I want to speak with you!?" He shouted as he flung what little nightmare sand he could at her. She dodged it easily with wide open eyes. "Oh, I can taste your fear, spirit!" He cackled as he continued to hurl nightmare sand at her. "You're afraid you won't see the one you care about. Who is that? Who is it you care about?"

"You mean you don't know?" She asked curiously as she dodged more nightmare sand.

"No, I can only sense you're afraid of losing them, or at the very least afraid you won't see them again."

"Yes, and I accept that, now put down your nightmare sand. I just want to talk. It's not like they can do anything to me anyway. Just push me back a bit."

"So I've noticed...well...at least the whispers from the nightmares are gone." Pitch decided to calm down, feeling himself growing weaker the more he used his sand. "They can't so much as talk. For now, I am granted some peace from their whispers...I suppose I should thank you for the moment, but I am curious as to why you would want to talk to me rather than gut me like the Guardians want to do."

"Because if I merely fight you, and not even try and understand your reasoning...what kind of person would that make me? Not the kind of person I want to be, that's for sure."

"You speak in a regal manner despite being from Texas."

"Ah...I see you picked up on my accent...and hey! We can plenty regal in Texas!" She laughed out, which made Pitch's eyes go wide.

"You really do just want to talk, don't you?" He asked as he slightly lowered his guard a bit, not knowing why it felt like the right thing to do.

"Yes. I only know a little of what they told me. You fought them, killed Sandy, he somehow came back, and then you got shoved into a hole. There's something I'm not being told. Who are you Pitch Black?"

"The boogeyman." He said simply.

"No...I mean before that. If you were always the boogeyman you wouldn't look like a king."

Pitch's eyes widened and he immediately looked down at his attire, and noticed his skin was no longer grey. "How did you..."

"Don't ask me. I haven't figured that out yet. So...who are you?"

"My..." Pitch suddenly felt like he had drank a truth serum without realizing it, because all he could do was fell the want and need to tell the truth. "...My name was original Kozmotis Pitchiner. I used to be general of the galaxies."

"Huh...so how did you become like this?"

"I was guarding a black gate that was holding back fearlings and nightmares...they whispered to me, and caught me in a moment of weakness, and used it against me. I thought...I thought my daughter was trapped inside."

"You had a daughter?" Mage questioned with shock. She wouldn't have pegged him as the fatherly type, but the way he nodded his head at her told her that he loved his daughter very much.

"I did. She was wild, beautiful, head strong, courageous, and grew into her own magical power early on in her age. Then...the nightmares and fearlings tricked me...after that, they tried to tell me she was dead...come to find out many centuries later that she was in fact not dead, but had been given the name Mother Nature."

Mage's jaw dropped and excitement filled her eyes. "Your daughter is Mother Nature!? That's amazing!"

"Yes, it is...in reality, I'm proud of her. Now...what else did you want to talk about?'

Mage nodded her head, understanding that this was obviously a painful topic for him, and cleared her throat before she continued. "I wanted to try and understand why you're doing what you've been doing."

"I used to be feared, believed in, and then the Man in the Moon chose the Guardians to replace me with their wonder and light. After that, I was written off as a bad dream. I constantly heard people saying I wasn't real, that there was nothing to be afraid of but..."

"Well that's ridiculous!" Mage said in disbelief.

Pitch raised his brows in confusion and shock. "What is?"

"That there's nothing to be afraid of!" She shouted, frustrated that people still thought that way. "There's a lot to be afraid of. I was murdered before becoming a spirit. She sliced me up eleven different ways...so yeah...I have a healthy fear of murderers and back stabbers with knives...or just sharp knives in general at this point. There's a lot kids should be afraid of too. Running into traffic, strangers, consequences for bad actions, the dark..."

"Wait, slow down...are you actually saying that fear is a good thing?"

"In healthy doses, yeah. I wouldn't say terrify young children to the point that they stop having fun...but perhaps small fears. Strangers, saying or doing bad things, suspicious people, shouting, hitting, violence, and the dark. I'm in my early twenties and I'm still afraid of the dark, and it's a good thing too, otherwise I would've fallen down the stairs, I don't know how many times. So, yes...I'm saying fear can be a good thing...if it's controlled."

"So you're saying there's a need for me?" Pitch asked in an almost cautious manner.

"In a way, yes, but they don't need to be as terrified as I saw them. Pitch, they had tears in their eyes. Nightmares can also be a good thing if used properly. Like...if a child stole something like a game...and dreamed about playing it...it wouldn't be a good idea for me to allow him to keep that dream. That's almost rewarding bad behavior. That child should fear the consequences of stealing."

"You're rather odd."

"Why, thank you!"

Pitch snickered slightly, then chuckled, then he broke out into full blown laughter, seemingly making the forest grow immensely darker within seconds, surrounding them in shadow. "You only further motivated me! What did you hope to accomplish?"

"I'm still here to talk. I know that you control nightmares, fears, and shadows...but wouldn't you like to be believed in and not terrorized by the Guardians for existing? Not only that, but wouldn't you like to live without constantly being faced with a moment of weakness?"

"What do you mean?"

"The nightmares caught you in a moment of weakness and forced you to become this. Wouldn't you like to, for once, have a choice? You said they whisper...what if you were to be louder? Louder than the whispers, and using fear in a good way. It won't be as powerful as you are now, and you may not like it for a very long time, but it's better than being hated for something that you didn't have a choice for. Tell me, what kind of general were you?"

"I..." Pitch started, flabbergasted by her words. He hadn't thought of it that way, and if he could use it for good, then he would be sneered and disliked at the worst. The others would have to accept that fear is a good thing, and perhaps she could convince them. "...I fought the dream pirates, and the fearlings. I defended the Man in the Moon's family at one point. I was a good man."

"I think you can still be a good man. Now, your power may not be liked, it may even be hated, but I'm sure given some time and SMALL and HEALTHY doses of fear and nightmares...it could be at the very least, respected. The children need fear, even adults need fear. It's just you need to know the difference between terror and fear. What you were doing was terror."

"You can't honestly think that the Guardians would allow me to just wake up and tell them that I wold use my fear for good purposes only...and let me live, do you?"

Mage stepped up to Pitch with a furious gaze and pushed him light as she growled out, "Let me tell you what I think. I think they saw me take away your scythe using sand whips. I think they saw me throw a dream baseball at your face, effectively knocking you on your ass, and they likely know by now that I pulled you in here. I think they know what I can do, and here's the thing...I'm still growing and learning about my powers! I think they know that I can take care of you if need be. When I forced you to go to sleep your shadows and nightmares dissipated. I purified the remanding black sand and now I control it, and I don't plan on giving it back. That's what I think."

"You..." Pitch said with wide eyes as he brushed off the front of his armor. "...have a fair point." He sighed out.

Mage crossed her eyes and smirked triumphantly. "How did those words taste in your mouth?"

"As sour as a lemon and as bitter as un-sweet tea."

"Oh! Ouch! My southern heart." She chuckled out as she held a dramatic hand to her heart.

"Figured you would understand if I said it like that. Now...let's say I don't agree to use my powers for good, and mind you even if I do, I will still be watched like a hawk and perhaps hunted..."

"If you don't then we're back to square one, and you will have gained nothing but repetition. You were a general, correct?"

"That's what I said."

"Would you use the same strategy against the enemy more than once? Let alone Twice?"

"Again, you have a very good point."

"Thank you, so what's your answer?"

Pitch looked around the domain and noticed that the shadows have retreated so much that only ordinary rightfully placed shadows remained. "I can't believe I'm saying this...but...I will make an attempt. I don't see I have much of a choice."

"There's always a choice."

"Not if I want to be feared and believed in."

"You can choose to do nothing and go in a circle of repetition further embarrassing yourself."

Pitch genuinely laughed at her comment. "You don't mince words do you?"

"I sometimes have tact...other times well..."

"I can see that." Pitch grinned slightly. "So, how do we get out of here?"

Mage smiled at him and waved a hand, suddenly everything brightened considerably, almost blindingly.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Meanwhile with Sandy and Friends (When Pitch showed up in the dream)**_

"Sandy...she's talking to Pitch..." Jack mentioned as he noticed Pitch come up behind Mage in the dream sand.

"Yes, I can see that, thank you." Sandy spat out with his voice laced with irritation as he rolled his eyes.

"What are you going to do if Pitch convinces her to join him?" Jack questioned cautiously.

"She won't join him."

"How do you know that?" Bunny inquired.

"I just do. I trust her."

Bunny shook his head in sympathy. "You can't just base it off of trust, Sandy you..."

"I can and I will." Sandy practically snapped.

"Sandy...look!" Tooth squeaked as the dream sand turned darker. It was almost completely black, and Pitch was starting to attack her, but she kept dodging.

"She'll be okay." He told them with confidence, but on the inside he was anxious beyond belief. _'She has to be okay...'_ He thought to himself as he watched the black sand in the dream get closer and closer to her, but then it stopped and Pitch stood patiently.

For a while they talked, but then they saw the sand turn completely black. '_No! Oh stars...NO!'_ Sandy screamed in his mind as he saw that even Mage had been turned into black sand. "Oh, Sandy...I'm so sorry..." Tooth said as she floated closer.

"She'll be okay. I trust she knows what she's doing." Sandy told them while silently trying to reassure himself as well.

"Mate, are you not looking at what we're looking at? She..."

"Bunny..." Sandy warned as he glanced back at him with a challenging glare that made Bunny shut his mouth with wide eyes. "...she will be okay." He told him with determined confidence.

"Look!" North said, and they did.

Sandy let out a relieved sigh, and his smile widened as the shadows completely disappeared and the dream returned to gold with tints of green. "Did she..." Jack trailed off.

"I think she did, Jacky. I think she purified Pitch." Bunny stated with wide eyes.

"That's not possible." North spat out, but then calmed as he noticed that they were both speaking more calmly in the dream. "Is it?" He asked Sandy.

"Well, it may be possible...to an extent...I suppose. He is the nightmare king, thus the embodiment of fear and nightmares themselves. She may have purified his insanity from the fearlings and nightmares along with their whispers. We'll find out when they wake up." Sandy told them feeling curiosity bubble beneath his anxious and worried heart.

They waited another thirty minutes in silence watching Pitch and Mage carry on what seemed to be a civilized a conversation. Then, the golden sand not only got brighter, but exploded into mini fireworks. "The dream sand is going back into her dream cloud! Jack, go keep an eye on Pitch!" Bunny shouted, and without needing to be told twice, Jack flew over to Pitch's side with his staff at the ready.

Mage stirred and blinked her eyes a couple of times as she sat up. "Careful, Mage." Sandy told her as he gently placed a hand on her back, helping her sit up.

The feeling of his hand on her back cause her eyes to shoot open wide as her gaze immediately darted to Sandy. When she looked at him, her jaw dropped. _"Sandy? I must still be dreaming...did you fall asleep too? I thought I was able to wake myself up..."_

Sandy couldn't help but smile at her, and her reaction to seeing him like this. "No, you did it. You woke yourself up. Manny had figured out how to give me my original form. This is me."

_"And you're talking! You're really here...the taller you...and you're talking!"_

"Yes..." He chuckled out, and finally couldn't help himself as he carefully enveloped her in a hug, trying to avoid agitating the stitches. "...and you're okay." He said as he held her slightly tighter before letting go.

_"I really worried you, huh?"_ Mage questioned with a twinge of guilt.

"Yes, you worried us all. I didn't want you going in at all and then the dream sand kept turning from gold to black...I was telling them you would be fine and that I trusted you." He took her hand and helped her to her feet, descending both of their dream sand clouds.

"Guys...the dream sand...!" Bunny pointed at them.

They both looked down and noticed that the dream sand was almost becoming one with their bodies. "This is normal for me, but it seems now you also have unlimited sand."

_"Wow, are you serious!?" _Mage asked, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Yes I..."

"Guys!" Jack shouted and steadied his aim at Pitch.

Sandy placed a hand on Mage's back, urging her to walk with him towards Pitch. Once they got there, the Guardians had their weapons at the ready, even Sandy, but Mage did not. "Oh..." Pitch groaned out as he sat up holding his head.

Mage waved at him with a gentle smile as she held a hand out to Pitch.

Pitch looked up at her in surprise. "That dream...how much of it was real?"

She held out a hand to him and stretched out her sand in the shape of arms silently saying, 'All of it' as Pitch took her hand and she helped him up.

"So...you meant every word?"

She nodded and smiled. She formed an arrow out of sand and pointed it at him.

"Yes, I meant what I said too." Pitch questioned as he patted down his robes, but then something caught his eyes. He looked at Sandy and staggered back quite a bit in shock. "What are _YOU_ doing here!? You _died!_"

"No...he came back to life, don't you remember? After _YOU_ killed him!" Bunny shouted.

"I could _never_ kill him!" Pitch shouted in horror at even the idea he could kill him, and that alone was enough to cause the Guardians' jaws to drop in confusion.

"Ah..." Sandy drawled out with a knowing smirk and a slight chuckle. "...I think I know where the confusion is coming from. You see...I didn't want to be part of the noble family I was born into so I left to be part of the League of Start Captains...once I told my family of my decision, I was disowned, leaving me with no last name. When I realized that I could give sweet dreams, I gave myself the last name of Mansnoozie."

"You...no...you can't possibly be Sandy...you're..." Pitch staggered back even more in shock until his back hit a tree.

Sandy chuckled low and smirked at Pitch. "Hello, little brother."

"LITTLE BROTHER!?" Everyone shouted. Mage shouted internally but shouted none the less.

"No! You can't have been..."

"Sandy? Sandman? I was and am. My name is Sanderson Mansnoozie."

"Sanderson...what happened?"

"You know what happened. I told them I wanted more in life, I wanted to be able to broaden my horizons. They said no, that I was to be next in line to be general and take over for Father. I left, they disowned me, I changed my name, and have been happy ever since." He told him with a confident smirk, but it faded as quickly as it appeared when his expression immediately turned into a disapproving scowl. "However! You have recently been acting like a brat throwing a tantrum! It's why I was so fed up with you last year. Then when you killed me..."

"You stood proud." Pitch breathed out in disbelief.

"Yes, because what had father always said?"

"If you are faced with Death in battle, do not kneel..." Pitch trailed off.

"...Instead, stand proud, for you fought for what you believed to be right and just...until the very end." Sandy finished.

"Wait! Hold up! Sandy was supposed to be Lord High General of the Galaxies?" Bunny questioned as his heart was pounding from the shock of it all.

"He was the eldest. He was...in a way...next in line for the throne. He was the first prince, but he left when he was just twenty-five years old. I was fifteen at the time, and it made me next in line when they disowned him."

"Why didn't Ombric tell us that!?" North shouted, and Bunny nodded in agreement.

"Because, I had known Ombric longer than either of you. I told him my story, because he was curious, and I told him to never repeat the part about me being Pitch Black's older brother. I told him that it was for everyone's safety, not just my own, and he adamantly agreed. So, he told three fourths of the story instead.

"Alright..." Bunny started as he scratched the back of his head. "...I think I, more than anyone, could understand that...but why didn't ya tell us?"

"Same reason. I wanted to keep all of you safe, and I had left that life behind on purpose. I had no ties with that life other than Pitch, and you can't imagine the pain and irritation it was to fight him not once, not twice, but three times on Earth."

"Oh my..." Pitch said as he face palmed himself. "...that explains the look you gave me when I was telling Frost it wasn't his fight! You used to always tap your foot at me like that when you scolded me!" Pitch's eyes widened and he groaned giving himself another face palm. "And when you shook your finger at me! Arg! You never changed!"

"Evidently neither do you." Sandy told him as he rolled his eyes in irritation, crossing his arms.

"No...but thanks to your spirit friend here...I will try."

Sandy's eyes widened and his crossed arms dropped slowly in shock. "Mage?" He asked as he looked at her.

_"I convinced him that fear is a good thing in small doses, and it is. It is good for children to be afraid of strangers, consequences, bad people, running into traffic...that sort of thing. In small doses...fear is okay. What he was doing before wasn't. So...we came to an agreement. He delivers fear in small appropriate doses, and I don't kick his ass in three moves like I did moments ago."_

"The _mouth_ on you, Mage!" Sandy laughed out, clear and loud and free. It was filled with so much mirth it caused Jack to smile widely and openly.

"Wow...so that's what you sound like when you laugh." North said, his eyes shinning wide with wonder and amazement at all of the revelations that were made within the past few hours.

"Yes, and Mage seems to have a habit of making me laugh."

"She...can make you laugh?" Pitch asked with a dropped jaw and wide eyes.

"I take it...he wasn't much of a laugher." Bunny said with a risen brow, still shocked by everything and the fact that somehow Mage had gotten Pitch to agree to trying. He didn't know how, but he figures he'll learn eventually, and he certainly wasn't going to ask any questions due to the amount of sincere Hope pouring off of Pitch.

"No! He most certainly was not! He never gave a genuine smile either. He would smile out of politeness and appearance, but even that was close to a grimace. I've never heard him laugh before."

"He's not wrong. It's why I left. There was no joy in being the eldest prince, no wonder at the thing around me, no hope for change, I rarely had good memories as it was...I was being trained to take my father's place when he died, and I barely had time to sleep, so there wasn't much to dream about. Then I found out about the League of Star Captains...and I left. They knew my secret and kept it that way from every being in the universe..." Sandy then looked at Bunny with an apologetic look. "...even the Pooka."

"It's alright, Sandy. You know my story. Ya know I can sympathize."

"Thank you. Now..." Sandy turned back to Pitch and crossed his arms again. "Do you swear to hold to your promise?"

"I, Kozmotis Pitchiner, second son of Elena and Zakaro Pitchiner, swear that I will use my darkness, fears, nightmares, and anything else I may have control over...for good. I will use them in ways that the young spirit Mage deems appropriate." Suddenly, there was a flash of light on Pitch's wrist and a groan was heard from him as he looked at the bracelet.

"Good!" Sandy said with a single nod.

"What is that?" Bunny asked with an intrigued tone.

"Oh, it's a word bond bracelet. One of our mother's inventions. If we speak our vow for a promise in a certain way and genuinely mean it at the time, it forms a bracelet. If he breaks his promise or bond, the bracelet will kill him, or I guess in his case, make him wish he were dead."

"Good enough for me!" Bunny said with a look that practically shouted 'Comeuppance is a bitch, ain't it!?'

"What do we do now?" Jack asked, his mind still reeling from everything, and he honestly wasn't sure if he could keep up with it all.

"Now, we trust Mage's judgement." Sandy said. "Trust me when I say, that bracelet will be like hell on earth to him if he should break his word." Sandy turned to face Mage who was staring at him in awe. "Mage?"

_"You're a prince!?"_

"A disowned prince." Sandy clarified.

_"A prince! You were a prince!"_

"Is that a problem?" Sandy asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice, making Pitch's jaw drop, because not only had he ever heard Sandy laugh, he never heard him be nervous about anything.

_"No!"_ She shouted with fascination and awe evident in her eyes. _"That's amazing, wonderful, incredible, remarkable, unexpected, and...I can't think of more words but wow! It explains how you're such a great dancer and how you speak and act! Wow!"_

Sandy gave her soft smile and chuckled low. "Well, at least you approve then." Right after his words, Manny shined down on all of them.

_"Guardians, return to the North Pole and bring Mage with you. Pitch Black, I believe you have work to do and a promise to keep. I sincerely hope you do change your ways, because Mage is right. The world needs fear...just not terror. Farewell for now."_


	13. Chapter 13

_'Three more days until the festival...'_ Sandy thought to himself as he glanced at Mage on her dream cloud while they descended into the globe room. He may have said that if he heard his heart song they would have to deal, but he's also heard that once it's shared, the two can't help but feel love for one another. Knowing that made him nervous, but also more determined than ever. All that was left was to hope that she didn't hear her heart song. The thought of seeing her sing a heart song with someone else left a sharp pain all over his body, especially in his chest.

"Alright, Manny, we are all here. What is it you wish to tell us?" North asked, and then he noticed Manny's moon beam was going to the Guardian crystal. "New Guardian? So soon?" North questioned as the crystal was lifted out of the floor. As the image settled, it revealed Mage as the new Guardian.

Sandy's eyes shone with pure delight and excitement. He grabbed Mage and picked her up tightly in his arms, effortlessly swinging her around. "YOU'RE A GUARDIAN!" He shouted as he allowed her to land, and then the moon beam went from the crystal to Mage. It shined on her beautifully, and Sandy found himself a bit breathless. Then, he noticed that the stitches on her throat were disappearing and the wound was no longer noticeable. _'If...If the wound is gone then...'_ He cleared his throat and placed a caring hand on her shoulder. "Can you try and say something?"

Mage looked up at him and brought a hand to her throat. She was honestly scared that if she had tried to say anything, nothing would come out, but from how much hope was shining in his eyes, she tried anyway. "S-Sandy?" She said, and her eyes went wide. "Sandy! I can talk! Oh this is a dream come true...LITERALLY!"

Sandy chuckled as he felt happier than he ever had in his entire life. "It certainly is." He told her, then looked at the other Guardians who watched their small display, and they were all smiling. "Well, North?" Sandy questioned, trying to show at least some confidence rather than the sudden shyness he felt.

North smiled brightly and nodded his head, and went to go grab the book. Once he was back, he opened it to the appropriate page with a proud smile. "Will you, Mage, spirit of Imagination and fellow dream magic user to Sanderson Mansnoozie, vow to watch over the children of Earth...to guide them safely from the ways of harm...To guard with your life their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams? For they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will be."

"I will!" She shouted proudly, earning cheers from everyone in the room, but Sandy was the loudest as he jumped up in a circle with how ecstatic he was.

"Then, Congratulations, Mage...for you are now, and forever more, a Guardian!" He closed the book and put it back then clasped his hands together. "This is cause for celebration! Food! Music! Let's go!"

"Music? But I thought..."

"Remember? I told you that we could listen to it and dance to it all we want, we just can't sing it until we match with our heart song." He reminded her with a smile.

"Oh, right...well...then I would like that very much."

"I could use a break." Bunny said with a twitch of his nose and a small smirk on his face.

"Oh! Bunny, will you be my dance partner?" Tooth squealed.

"I don't see why not."

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Once everything was set up after two hours of the yeti and elves frantically helping North and the others set up the banquet hall and the music, the Guardians told the yeti to set the food on the tables that were up against the wall, because the middle of it was going to be used for dancing. Then, all of them went to their rooms to get changed. Mage had just finished putting on her golden necklace with the star pendent attached to it, and she looked at herself in the tall mirror in the bathroom. Her closet had somehow conjured the same dress Sandy gave her in the last dream they shared, but her dresser supplied her with golden flats instead of black, and she decided to leave her hair down. She chose not to wear make-up even though it was there, and after another look in the mirror, she was satisfied with her choices. She closed her bathroom door and was about to see if there was a bracelet that would go with the outfit when she heard a knock on her door. "Just a moment." She called as she made her way to the door. _'It's so good to be able to speak again!' _She thought to herself. She opened the door and saw Sandy standing there patiently and watched as his jaw dropped slightly. She looked down at her clothes and then looked at her clothes, before bringing her gaze back up to him. "Do I look that bad?"

"No! You look..." Sandy suddenly felt his breath catch in his throat as he looked at what she was wearing, and remembered it clear as day, but the dream did her no justice compared to how she looked to him at the moment. Then, without thinking, he breathed out, "By all the stars, Mage...You look gorgeous."

"Really?" She asked nervously.

"Yes, you really do." He said honestly with reassuring smile. "How um...how do I look?"

Mage looked at his clothing and noticed it was slightly different. instead of a golden vest it was somewhat similar to the original vest, but instead of golden swirls on it, they held golden sparkles that gracefully built up at the bottom of it, like her dress. The long sleeve dress shirt underneath it was black, and in between the shirt and the vest was a golden tie matching the vest. She noticed he was wearing black pants and black shoes. "That's a lot of black." She told him in a teasing manner.

"I'll have you know, I like this outfit." He told her with a small smirk.

"I can tell. You're wearing it. You look very handsome. I just don't know why North asked us to dress up."

"If it makes you feel any better, he did the same thing for Jack. Becoming a Guardian...it's a really big thing in the entirety of the spirit world. You'll no doubt find that out later down the line as you are now the Guardian of Imagination. It's more of a formal matter than you think. So...with that being said...may I escort you to the ball?" Sandy asked as he held a hand over his chest and bowed.

"Ball?" She questioned as her eyes widened considerably while a wide and excited smile graced her features.

"Yes, ball. That's what this is...in a way. Now, your answer, my lady?" He said with a mischievous smirk pointing upwards to her.

"Oh! Yes, of course!" She told him and took his arm with a blush threatening to grace her cheeks. _"You know, now that I think about it...I should've been able to guess that you were a prince. Disowned or not."_ She thought to him, glad that she could still communicate with him through her thoughts.

Sandy smiled brightly at her words. _"Yes well...old habits die hard, or when I'm with you, they don't die at all. You bring out the prince in me."_

Now the blush was there, and she was doing everything she could to stifle it, but couldn't. _"Thank you."_

_"You are most welcome."_

Once they met up with the others, Mage noticed that Tooth's attire hadn't changed much, but she was wearing some jewelry as well as light green dress with short sleeves attached. When she looked over at Bunny and her jaw nearly dropped. He was wearing a green robe with golden egg shaped buttons, a red collar, and his pants were black and actually made him look a bit more human. She then looked over at Jack Frost who was wearing a similar outfit to Sandy's but his was almost all blue and he wasn't wearing a vest like Sandy. North was wearing what he normally wore, just without the coat. "Oh my!" Tooth squeaked out. "Mage, you look absolutely stunning, and on Sandy's arm...oh my! It's like a prince and a princess."

"Well, to be fair..." Mage started.

"Oh, yes I know he is, but sweet tooth...you look every bit as regal as him. You look like a real princess."

Mage allowed herself to blush as she looked up at Sandy. "Do I?" She asked.

He looked at her and gave her a soft smile. "You do." He told her vocally. _"However, you look better than any princess. You look like a queen."_ He told her mentally, trying to reign in the blush that wanted to appear on his face and creep down his neck. He never wanted her to question her beauty, especially when he felt that those words were entirely true.

"Thank you...both of you."

"Yes, you look very beautiful, Mage." North told her with a genuine smile before walking into the banquet hall, with the others following close behind.

Once they were in the banquet hall, Jack chuckled lightly. "What is it?" Mage asked him curiously.

"Oh, it's just that...since we're the Guardians of childhood...North likes to start with a song from children's movie, but the romantic sap chooses a lovey dovey one."

"Jack, you certainly have _no_ room to talk." Sandy said with an amused smile as he allowed his arm to drop, only slightly letting go of Mage's arm.

"Yeah, yeah." Jack rolled his eyes with a knowing smile.

"Okay, I have picked song! I like it and is perfect! Bah, I am biased...you will see! This time I will not start with song from children's movie!"

"Oh, I love that one!" Tooth squeaked as soon as she saw what song he selected. "Bunny, you said you'd be my partner!"

"What about Jack and North?" Mage asked.

"They don't like to dance." Sandy informed her. "But I do." He added as he stepped to the side slightly, and gave a bow with his hand over his chest. "May I have this dance, my lady?"

"You may." She told him as she took his hand and the music immediately started. Sandy led her in the form of a waltz, matching the tempo perfectly and spinning them around when it felt right, while also swaying here and there briefly before spinning her, and despite how short the song was, they both enjoyed it.

_**I see trees of green, red roses too** _  
_**I see them bloom for me and you** _  
_**And I think to myself what a wonderful world**_

_**I see skies of blue and clouds of white** _  
_**The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night** _  
_**And I think to myself what a wonderful world**_

_**The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky** _  
_**Are also on the faces of people going by** _  
_**I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do** _  
_**They're really saying I love you**_

_**I hear babies crying, I watch them grow** _  
_**They'll learn much more than I'll never know** _  
_**And I think to myself what a wonderful world** _  
_**Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world**_

Once the song ended, Sandy allowed his old regal instinct and propriety that his mother taught him come forward, and he gently took Mage's hand and laid a soft but quick kiss on the back of her hand. After he did so, he immediately looked up at Mage who was blushing. "Oh, I'm uh...sorry about that...like I said...old habits..."

"I don't mind. It just caught me off guard. It's nice to be treated like a princess sometimes."

_'If I had my way, Mage...it would be all the time...'_ He thought sadly as he was once again reminded of the heart song festival. "I'm glad, you think so." He told her with a smile. Then, he noticed the lack of speech in the banquet hall. He looked at his friends and they stared at him with impressed wide eyes, and shocked slacked jaws. "What?" He asked them.

"We didn't know you could dance!" Bunny shouted with a slight chuckle.

"Well, to be fair...I couldn't. A little hard to dance when a little less than four feet tall, have short arms and legs, and can't properly keep your feet on the floor, therefore, not able to properly lead your dance partner...so all in all...I couldn't. Then, Manny changed me back, and it's like riding a bike. I never forgot, I just had to get into the hang of it and pick it up again."

_"Even though you picked it up rather well when we were dreaming."_ Mage added with a mischievous tone that didn't show through her face, but gained her a side glance from Sandy as the Guardians started talking among themselves about his dancing, and then he gave her a gentle and appreciative smile. "I'm..." She started, trying to distract the blush that has wanted to appear the whole night. "...glad I have such a good dance partner."

"This is good! More music!" North shouted.

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

After fifteen more songs, seven of which Mage and Sandy took the moment to relax from dancing, they both finally got too tired, and made their way to their own rooms. "Sandy, you're not coming in to give me a dream?"

"No...I want you to surprise me. You're good at that." He told her honestly as he placed a hand on his door handle. "Goodnight, Mage. Sweet dreams."

"Goodnight, Sandy. You too." She said before walking into her room.

Once she was in her room, Sandy entered his and carefully and quietly closed the door behind him. Once he heard the click, he slid down the door with his head in his lap. _'What am I supposed to do!? How am I supposed to conceal my feelings for her until the festival is over...when all I want to do is act like a prince around her, and treat her like the queen she deserves to be treated like!? What am I supposed to do now that I know I've fallen in love with her!?'_ He screamed at himself as his heart both ached with the pain of the upcoming heart song festival, and danced with how wonderful the night had been so far, and he was silently thanking Manny for taking on their duties of dream giving tonight for the celebration, but his heart wasn't very thankful at the moment. _'Will I even be able to deny someone if they match my heart song? Is that even possible?'_ He stood back up and undressed himself until he was down to golden boxers. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of golden pajama bottoms that had stars and moons lightly patterned in, just a slightly lighter shade. Then, he took himself to bed, trying to ignore the stressful thoughts for now. _'Three more days...'_ Was his last thought before he drifted off to sleep under his covers.


	14. Chapter 14

When Sandy opened his eyes in the dream, he had expected either the forest or outer space, or even the ballroom he gave her, but he wasn't met with that. No, when he opened his eyes in Mage's dream he was at the in a castle, and Mage was sitting on one of the edges of the balcony...with his brother. "Alright, you invited me here. What is it, Mage? I clearly haven't broken the promise as I am alive and well."

Sandy quickly hid behind the wall that the balcony door was built against, and decided to listen in. "I wanted to see Sandy, but he hasn't shown up yet. Usually he has no issue with falling asleep." She told him with a disappointed sigh that caused something to twist in Sandy's heart, and he could deal with that, he could call it guilt and apologize, but then why was she talking to Pitch? _'It must've been an accident that I was pulled into her dream...she still wants to see me, but doesn't realize I'm here...'_

"Ah, so I'm you're next best option?"

"No, I wanted to ask you some things about him."

"Why not ask him yourself?" Pitch questioned, and for a moment, Sandy heard his little brother once more. "My brother is always an honest person. If you asked him, he would tell you the truth."

"Well...it was about the heart song festival..."

"Wait...don't tell me my brother attends that?"

"He said he does, and that North and Jack go to support him. I'll be going too. I asked him some stuff about it, but I have a feeling that he isn't telling me everything. He's told me the truth, I know that much, but I think there's more to it."

"Sanderson attends the heart song festival..." Pitch trailed off in shock.

"Why is that so surprising to you?"

"Well...because the brother I knew...well, not that he's like that anymore, but the brother I knew...when our parents tried to pair him off with someone of noble stature he barely gave them the time of day."

"Well...would you be able to tell me anything about the heart song festival?"

"I'm afraid not. What I've heard is just the most basic knowledge. What you've heard from Sanderson is probably closer to the truth of everything. I have no reason to believe my brother would lie or wish to deceive you."

"I know...I trust him...it's just...if I go...I don't think I want to find my heart song."

"Why ever not!?" Pitch exclaimed as her words instantly confused him. "Who doesn't want to find their heart song?"

"Me...and I have my reasons. For one, I don't like the idea of being forced to love someone."

"Ah, that is where you, and the brother I knew, are alike. That's why he would turn down marriage proposals."

_'Dammit, Pitch, you brat! Why did you have to tell her about the marriage proposals!'_ Sandy mentally screamed at Pitch, knowing he wouldn't hear it while he silently brought a hand to his face and allowed it to drag down. "Marriage proposals!?"

"Well, yes...I said that didn't I? When I said our parents tried to pair him off, I wasn't talking about dancing."

"R-Right...should've guessed...well...could you tell me anything about him? What was he like?"

"Sanderson..." Pitch sighed out, and Sandy's eyes went wide as he could hear the smile the sigh held. "...he was the perfect prince. He could sing, dance, paint, sculpt, read, write...he had refined manners, and treated women with the as much respect as he could even if they insulted him and threw drinks in his face when he politely refused to marry them. He was a perfect gentleman. He was educated, artistic, well mannered, and always alert."

"Okay...that's what Sandy was like as a prince...what about a person?"

"How do you mean?" Pitch asked with an amused grin.

"Well, he could do all of those things because he was taught or forced to learn all of those things, and Sandy said he didn't like that part of his life...so...what was he like as a person? What was he like when he wasn't required to act like a prince?"

"That's a very good question to ask." Pitch told her with a genuine tone. "When he didn't have to behave like a prince, he was so much fun. He would leave the palace to climb trees, go to the beach in as much as a disguise that he could muster that would allow him to go swimming...he would ride his horse as fast and hard as he could through the forest, and when he wasn't doing that, he was spending his time with me, helping me grow to be a good prince. Then, when he wasn't helping me grow to be a good prince, he would take me with him on his outings. Sometimes we would sneak into the kitchen and sneak snacks away from the cook. Other times he would play pranks on some of Father's servants, or even on an occasion, he would get truly daring and play a prank on Father himself. Now, when there was no requirement to be nobility, Father was usually in a good mood."

"Wait...but I thought there was no joy for him in that life."

"And there wasn't. You see...I say all that...but even then...he never really laughed. He briefly smiled, but that's it as far as showing genuine happiness went, and the days he did experience some form of joy...those days were very few and far between. It was a rare occurrence. When he wasn't able to be himself...he was trapped inside doing what our parents told him to do." Pitch let out a heavy and sorrowful sigh that Sandy hasn't heard since they both lived in the palace together, and Sandy's eyes widened at the sound of it. "Sometimes...I think that our parents treated him more like a servant than the actual servants. He had to be where Father and Mother said he was supposed to be, he had to act the way they said he should act, he had to be artistic in the way they deemed appropriate...the list goes on. I can't blame him for leaving now that I think about it, but it's not like I did any better with my reign. Sandy would've been a better Lord High General than I was."

"If you're saying that because of the fearlings and nightmares..."

_'She knows about those!?'_ Sandy shouted in his mind. "...No, not just that." Pitch interrupted. "Like I said, he was the perfect prince. He held a calm and patient demeanor at all times unless someone provoked innocent people, and even then, he held himself with grace and decorum. He made Father proud. Sanderson had been insulted, belittled, spat on, had drinks poured on him, knocked down, shouted at, and just about every disrespectful thing you can imagine to do to a prince...yet he still held his composure. I was never able to do that. Not to that extent at least, and then yes...my weakness of my daughter got the better of me."

_'Oh right...I heard rumor he had a daughter...I also heard she was on Earth...'_ As Sandy thought about it, his silent question was answered sooner than expected. "You said your daughter turned out to be Mother Nature, right?"

"That's right. I'm surprised you remember that." Pitch told her with a small smile. Meanwhile, Sandy felt as if his brain had exploded. _'Mother Nature is his daughter!? His own daughter helped us fight him so long ago!? That was her!? Mother Nature is my niece!? How did I not know this!?'_

"Hey...I'm curious...who was Sandy's first dance partner?"

"What a strange question to ask." Pitch remarked with a chuckle. "It was the lady Eklain from the planet Serratein...but that is the name we called it. You would know it as Saturn."

"People can live on the planet Saturn!?"

"Well...not anymore, I'm afraid...due to my corruption."

"Hmm...well...at least you're going to be better now."

Pitch's eyes widened in appreciation for her words. "Thank you, I will try."

"Good...so...what was Lady Eklain like?"

"Oh, she was beautiful. She had long brunet hair that fell into ringlets, and she always wore some kind of shade of silver in the clothes she wore. She was kind, funny, headstrong, opinionated, patient, and wonderful. She was also highly educated and very well mannered...Sandy took no interest in her, but I did. It was about three years after Sandy left and two years after Father had passed away...I took it upon myself to court her, and I married her. From then on, everyone knew her as Lady Pitchiner."

"You married Sandy's first dance partner?"

"Yes, I did. I knew I wanted her the moment she walked through our palace doors, but it wasn't my place to say or do anything. Not yet anyway. Besides, Sandy and I were ten years apart. I was going to wait until I felt I was old enough. She was also the last of the nobility Sanderson saw, because that was the same year that he left."

"That's incredible." Mage said with a tone of awe. "Wait...I told you to change the scene, but you never told me where we are."

Sandy looked around the room he was hiding in and his eyes widened in shock while his breath and his heart seemed to get caught in his throat. The floor and walls were made of marble while the ceiling was made of unbreakable glass that allowed him to look directly up at the stars. The pillars in the large room were lined with pure gold, and the furniture was made from the finest wood he had ever seen. Then he looked to the bed and noticed that the only thing he could compare it to, would be if someone put two king sized beds together and made them one. "We're on Sanderson's balcony. This is the balcony that came from his room from when he lived at the palace." Pitch told her with a proud smile. "This is where Sanderson would take me when he wanted to talk."

"Oh, I want to see his room!" She said with excitement.

"Not this time, alright? It's a bit painful for me to look inside."

"Oh...I can understand that I guess."

"Good, now...if you don't mind, I have work to do, and you have sleep to catch up on."

"Oh, right..."

"When I leave, you should try pulling Sandy in again. I'm almost a hundred percent certain that he will show up." Sandy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. _'He knew I was here!'_

"How can you be sure?"

"Let's call it intuition and leave it at that. Will you try?"

"Alright, I'll try."

"Good..." Pitch grunted out as he stood up, helping Mage up from her seat. Once they were both standing, he took her hand and gave it a gentle kiss. "Sweet Dreams, Mage, and congratulations on being made a Guardian."

As Mage blushed, Sandy felt a twinge anger and jealousy make it's way into his heart, because he did not see that he merely kissed her hand. All he heard was a soft kiss and a gasp from Mage, and then there was the shocked feeling that Pitch just congratulated her on becoming a Guardian. "T-Thank you..." He heard her tell him, and then he saw a bright light that left as quickly as it came. Once the light was completely gone he heard Mage let out a sigh.

"Mage...?" He asked as he stepped out from behind the wall, not wanting her to try and summon him when he was already there.

"Y-You...but I...I tried once and you didn't show...so I...how long have you been there?" She questioned, becoming flustered by Sandy's appearance. It was far different than the previous times. She looked at his clothing and realized he was wearing a black vest that laid on top of a loose white shirt that looked like something a prince would where in the 1700's. The pants and the shoes were the same, but the shirt, she couldn't take her eyes off of. There was a small opening at the chest where she could see a portion of his muscular chest. The next thing she noticed was that Sandy's hair wasn't nearly combed back. It was hanging down in small waves, and she honestly could't think of a time when medium length wavy hair ever looked that good on any man. Not even the celebrity crushes she had. "S-Sandy? You look..."

Sandy tilted his head at her and looked at his clothes. His eyes widened in shock and he darted back inside his old chambers and stood in front of the mirror. "This is..."

Mage stepped inside the large room, her feet seemingly gaining a mind of their own, and what she saw made her breathless as her jaw dropped. "Sandy?" She questioned as she looked around.

"This is the outfit I wore when I ran away..." He told her as he stared in the mirror. "I didn't comb my hair that day, I purposely let it be loose..."

"You...this is..." As she tried to coherently speak, she soon realized that not only has she lost her train of thought, the train had completely derailed at the sight of him. Once she found it again, she decided to repeat her question from earlier. "How long have you been here?"

"Since Pitch asked you why you wanted to talk." He told her honestly, thanks to the fact that dreams bring out honesty.

"O-Oh..."

"Here...let me..." Sandy said when he suddenly felt that he had at least half control over the dream. He waved a hand at himself and his clothes glowed bright before changing to what Mage was used to seeing. "Better?"

"Honestly? Debatable. So um...you heard everything then?"

"Pretty much, and um...that kiss he gave you..."

"It was on the hand, why do you ask?"

"No reason, just making sure he stays appropriate."

She chuckled lightly, feeling a little less flustered now that he was in his usual appearance. "He was appropriate."

Sandy nodded his head nervously and slid his hands into his pockets as his gaze found the floor to be interesting at the moment. "Mage...about everything he told you...and about the...marriage proposals..."

"You were a prince. That kind of thing happens to royalty. I've read enough fantasy and history books to know that it happens."

He let out a relieved sigh. 'Thank the stars that she's so understanding!' He mentally screamed. "Thank you!" He sighed out. "I wasn't sure what you would've thought of me after that."

"I'm glad my opinion matters that much...but mainly the thing I thought about it was that you must've been quite the catch when you were a prince."

"I was, but nothing ever happened."

"Nothing?"

"No!" He laughed out. "If I continuously refused proposals and barely gave the women the time of day, what makes you think anything would happen? I was respectful to them, yes, and I danced with them, and I was courteous to them, but if they started trying to bed me or romance me, I would immediately ignore them..." Sandy immediately felt himself blush as the honesty spilled out of his mouth. "...and unfortunately..." He continued a little slower as he kept his eyes glued to the floor. "...that happened quite often. I'm different now, though. Hence...the heart song festival I will be attending."

"Bed you!?"

"They tried to get me to have sex with them." He clarified, fairly sure she already knew what he meant, but clarified none the less.

"I know that, but why?"

"Some of them didn't want romance or even a title." Sandy shrugged.

"Wait...so they just wanted to have sex with you for the hell of it!?" Mage shouted as she was suddenly angered by something that happened well over twenty million years ago.

"Basically."

"But you never..."

"Nope." He told her honestly. "I haven't even kissed a woman on the lips."

"You...haven't had your first kiss?"

"That's what I just said." Sandy answered with a small smile as he decided to look at her rather than the floor and noticed the small blush on her cheeks. _'Likely from me mentioning women tried to bed me...'_ He thought with a slight chuckle. "Mage back then I..."

Before he continue explaining they both heard Bunny's voice. _**"Mage wake up! Come on!"**_ Then suddenly, Mage was pulled out of the dream and Sandy not long after.


	15. Chapter 15

When Mage woke up she saw Bunny over her, and felt his gentle paw on her shoulder. "There ya are. Look, we need ya to get dressed and go wake up Sandy...we have a surprise guest...and she decided to bring Pitch with her. Wrapped him in vines. She's not happy with him being out of the hole. Come on!" Bunny told her as he then made his way out of the room. "I have to go help with the situation."

"Alright, I'll be right there." She told him and as soon as the door closed, she quickly got out of bed and went to her closet, still feeling in a dress sort of mood. She looked at the different dresses and decided on the yellow sun dress that she actually owned before being made a spirit. It had tank top like sleeves, small sewn in yellow flowers, and the bottom of it had a silk black cloth sewn all around the edge. After selecting underwear, and slipping the dress on, she then slipped on the black flats, and made her way into Sandy's room.

Once she was in there, and closed the door behind her, she felt her heart as well as her breathing stop as a blush made it's way to her cheeks. Sandy's hair was disheveled and he was pulling out a yellow dress shirt out of his drawer, and was shirtless. He was wearing black pants and already had black shoes on, but what her mind could only register was disheveled hair, and shirtless Sandy. The muscles she got a glimpse of were no joke, and she noticed how muscular his arms were, just before noticing the dream giver had a six pack. When Sandy moved to walk to the bed, he saw her and her breathing continued very briefly as a startled gasp came when she saw him in full view rather than side view. _'Damn he's...'_ She thought as she looked at him, but then he gave her a risen brow and a mischievous smirk, while still holding on to his shirt.

"You're not trying to bed me too, are you?" He said with a low voice in confidence knowing that she noticed his lack of clothing on his upper half. His normal voice hadn't quite woken up quite yet.

"M-Me? N-No! I..." When he nodded his head and chuckled low her heart skipped several beats. _'Dear God...he is a prince!'_ It wasn't a realization or a confirmation, it was based on how he held himself at the moment and the fact he was shirtless while oozing confidence.

"Well, at least there's that." He said as he slipped his shirt over his head, buttoning the last button. 'Not that I would mind...' At his own thought his eyes went wide. _'Why did I just think that!?'_

"W-What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." He said quickly as he then pulled on the honey colored vest. "...just a thought I had. Sometimes my mind wanders into expected areas and thinks on it's own."

"Oh..." She said as she slowly relaxed now that he was dressed, or at the very least buttoning his vest, but she knew she was never going to be able to get that sight out of her mind. "I've had that happened a few times..." She told him. _'Yes, like when I realized while we were dancing at the ball that I may have feelings for someone who could never have feelings for me...and who's going to attend a heart song festival...and who's a freaking PRINCE!'_ Her mind shouted.

"Not a fun place to be." He told her as he looked at his tie, deciding to leave it on the bed for right now. "So, what was all that commotion?"

"Bunny says we have a surprise guest, she brought Pitch, she's not happy, and that Bunny had to go help with Pitch. He said he was wrapped in vines."

Sandy looked up at her immediately as he began to finish buttoning his right sleeve. "Vines? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I think I may know who our guest is." He groaned out. "Bunny's right. We need to be there. Let's go." Sandy took her hand and pulled her out of his room, and then slowly let go when they finally made it to the globe where everyone was gathered.

"Have you lost your minds!?" A woman's voice could be heard. "Where's Sandy! He would say that you've all lost your minds!"

"What's going on here?" Mage questioned.

"Unless either of you are Guardians, then it's none of your concern!" She shouted as she tightened the vines around Pitch while keeping his mouth covered by a thick vine.

"Well, then...I guess it is my concern." Mage said with an irritated tone.

_"Do not react when I say this...That's Mother Nature."_ Sandy told her with his mind, and an impatient tone. He took a glance at her, and watched as she gave a single nod.

"Finally the two of you got here!" Bunny said as he kept his eyes on Mother Nature.

"Mother Nature...please calm..." North tried, but only further angered her.

"Calm!? You're the Guardians of childhood! I'm just doing my job one minute and the next I see Pitch Black giving nightmares and spreading shadows...and now you tell me that you're letting him run around free...on purpose!? Where's the Sandman!?"

"I'm right here." Sandy said as he and Mage walked closer to the group until they were part of the group.

Mother Nature laughed at him and shook her head. "Do you think me an idiot!? The Sandman is less than four feet tall, spiky hair, and constantly wearing a robe. You look nothing like him!"

"I am Sandy. My name is Sanderson Mansnoozie."

Growing continuously impatient as well as furious, she took out a sword and pointed it at him. "Do not insult me with your lies!" She warned.

Sandy ran to one of the book shelves and pulled out one of the rapiers that North had hidden in case he needed to give Jack a sword to defend himself, and he yanked it from their secret hiding place and pointed it at her. It had a black handle with the golden spirals going from the very bottom of the hilt to where the blade met with the top of the hilt. It felt weird, but also familiar. He had one similar, but different in his old life. "You will put your sword down." He threatened, and the other Guardians gasped at Sandy's reaction. Meanwhile, Bunny's jaw was completely dropped in shock.

"Ha! Only further proof that YOU are NOT Sandy." She accused as she stepped forward with her sword still pointed at him. "His weapon is a pair of whips made from sand."

"I will not whip a woman. Especially a woman who is clueless to the fight she fights. However..." Sandy rushed forward with the sword, purposely avoiding her, but making the rapier go near her in such a way that only made it seem like he missed. "...that doesn't mean I'm afraid to fight a woman either. I will ask you again. Put your sword down, and I will put my sword down."

"You attacked first!"

"To prove that I'm not afraid to fight you if necessary! Now, you have come to the North Pole, dragged Pitch Black away from his duties, shouted at the other Guardians, and although I may look different, you dare attack me...accusing me of not being me. You have not asked for an explanation, you have merely assumed and have acted like a child that has become upset when they are told they are wrong. You have not listened and from what I have seen, have not been willing to listen." Mother Nature faltered quite a bit and she briefly lowered her sword, but lifted it back up when she realized she had lowered it. "Lower. Your. Sword." Sandy demanded with a fierceness in his eyes that startled her even more. "You know I'm right."

Mother Nature let out an irritated and frustrated growl as she lowered her sword and sheathed it. "Explain yourself! Why would you claim to be Sandy?"

"I AM Sandy. Manny granted me my original form...you were just unable to see it when we met. Then, when we came to Earth, I changed almost immediately."

"Wait...I've never told anyone that I came here with anyone else..."

"On a shooting star no less." Sandy said with a small smile.

Her eyes widened as she heard his words. She hadn't told anyone at all of how she made it to earth. "S-Sandy!? Wha-!?"

"Hello, Emily."

"I...I never told...anyone...I go by a different name now...I...you're really..."

"Yes, I think I've proven that." He said as he calmly walked to place the rapier back in it's hiding place. As he came back he looked at Pitch. "You can let him go. He won't run off. Will you, Koz?"

Pitch's, along with everyone else's eyes widened considerably. Mother Nature, However, staggered back as she turned her head to face Pitch, who looked at Sandy and shook his head. She couldn't hold her powers together because of the shock, and so, naturally, the vines vanished from Pitch. When Pitch got up he patted down his clothes and then looked at Sandy. "Thank you Sanderson."

"Honestly, how do you _ALWAYS_ manage to get yourself into these situations?" Sandy questioned with a small smile as he brushed off a leaf from Pitch's shoulder. He then turned around to walk towards Mage with Pitch following behind, before they both turned to face the Guardians and Mother Nature. Now, although the Guardians became calmer, Mother Nature found herself growing increasingly confused and bewildered.

Pitch rolled his eyes as he let out a light chuckle. "I was doing just fine. I was just...biding my time."

"Oh, yes..." Sandy said with a dramatic nod. "I could certainly see that you had everything handled, Pitch. You were only trapped in vines. The very same vines that I know that you know can cut through fearlings and nightmares...but yeah...of course you were fine."

"Smart ass." Pitch chuckled out.

"Troublesome brat."

"I'M troublesome!?" Pitch laughed out in disbelief. "You have put your friends through the wringer with all the recent revelations about you. If anyone is troublesome here, it's you, brother."

"BROTHER!?" Mother Nature shouted, and nearly fell to the floor when suddenly Mage moved her hand and quickly created a chair for her to fall into. Mother Nature then darted her gaze to the woman who was standing next to Sandy.

"Yes, brother." Pitch admitted with a small smile. "And thank you, Mage, for making her chair."

"You're welcome, Pitch."

"What do you mean Brother!?" Mother Nature shouted "...And just how is she able to use dream sand like Sandy!? Why are you all getting along with Pitch Black of all people!? Someone answer me!"

"Okay, first question." Sandy started, but then felt Pitch's hand on his shoulder.

"Actually, I think I should explain that one." Pitch said with a slight wince.

"Well somebody better!" Mother Nature shouted.

"You see..." Pitch started. "...the thing is...Sanderson here..." Pitch said as he pointed at Sandy. "...is my older brother. I thought he died while I was under corruption from the fearlings and Nightmares, but apparently not. He ran away from the palace to join The League of Star Captains, and they accepted him while my father disowned him. He then ended up on Earth where his body was altered in a similar way that mine was...changing his appearance, but it also took away his ability to speak...but yes...he is my brother."

"S-Sandy is my uncle?"

"You're not the only one that was shocked by the revelation. I'm still trying to come to terms with it. I've been here with you since we both landed to Earth."

Mother Nature nodded her head in understanding. "So...you're really my uncle?"

"Yes, I am. I was the first born son to Elena and Zakaro Pitchiner."

"Grandmama and Grandpapa...I never met them, but...what were they like? Pitch never told me anything past their names."

"They were...noble people." Sandy told her as he glanced at Pitch who then took it upon himself to bite his tongue about how they treated Sandy.

"So...what am I supposed to call you?"

"Sandy should do just fine if you don't want to call me uncle. Like I said, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it."

"Okay..." She said, nodding her head with a nervous but appreciative smile. "And how can she use dream sand?"

"She's like me, but a bit more powerful. She can communicate with me through her thoughts, and she could understand me when I was mute. Now, we can still converse through telepathy, but I can obviously talk now. She can lucid dream, change the color of dream sand, she can purify Pitch's nightmare sand, she can also send dreams to children, she can pull anyone who is sleeping when she is, into her dream so she can speak privately with them, she can bring drawings to life, and that's just what we've found out in a few days. She is the first of her kind and she even has her own domain. It's the place where she can pull people who are sleeping when she sleeps. She pulls them into an area that she can control. She is the first spirit of Imagination, and also has just recently been made Guardian of Imagination."

"She...she can truly do all of that?"

"I can vouch for her, because she used a sand whip to yank my scythe out of my hands, and when it turned back into sand she took control of the nightmare sand, formed it into a ball, and purified it right in front of me. Then, it became part of her dream cloud."

"That's...North, is this all true?" When North gave her a stern nod her jaw dropped. "This is so much to take in..." Mother Nature said as she propped her elbows on her knees and held her face in her hands. "Okay...and what about why you are all getting along now?"

"Because..." Pitch stated and showed Mother Nature the bracelet he was wearing. "...I swore an oath that I would only use my powers in a way that Mage deems appropriate. She purified the whispers from my darkness when she pulled me into her dream...and they weren't back when I awoke...it was the least I could do. Manny was apparently agreeable with the idea, because he told me I had work to do while the Guardians returned here...and then about three hours later you pull at me with your vines and I suddenly found myself surrounded in leaves just before seeing the North Pole. Now, we're here."

"So...if you get out of control..."

"The bracelet will kill him, or make him wish he were dead." Sandy confirmed. "I see you've taught her that."

"Yes, I taught her that at least." Pitch said with a nod.

"I thought you were joking! Telling me a story to scare me into being careful with my words!"

"No, it's very real." Pitch told her with a sigh. "The proof is on my wrist."

"Alright...so...Pitch is good now?"

"For now, anyway." Bunny told her.

"...And you, Bunny? You're going to trust this?"

Bunny snorted out a laugh and nodded his head. "I watched the sheila take him down by herself. She threw a dream sand baseball at him after ripping away his scythe, and then she got him to take an oath that will end up killing him if he doesn't hold up to it. I think that's more than enough for me to trust this. Either way, it would end bad for Pitch if he fails."

"Makes sense I guess..." She trailed off, mostly in shock of everything, and if Bunny, who is the last of his kind thanks to her father, was going to trust it for now, then she figured she could too. "I feel like I've acted a fool."

Sandy crossed his arms in an impatient manner and started tapping his foot. "You have." Sandy stated bluntly. "You were brash, lacked grace, had no listening skills that were apparent, and you allowed your emotions to get the better of you."

"Sandy!" Tooth squeaked out in horror that her friend could say any of those things to anyone. Let alone someone who just had their world flipped upside down, but then she saw an approving smile on Pitch that didn't seem mischievous or evil, he seemed to know what Sandy was going to say, and even though Mother Nature flinched with every word, she still sat there and listened.

"However, you calmed yourself, you gained some of your decorum, you quickly learned to patiently listen, and even though you let them get the better of you this time, your emotions also helped you to sympathize and analyze the situation as well yourself. You have learned from this. You should be proud."

Mother Nature looked up at Sandy in surprise, but then noticed the approving smile on Pitch's face. "What's with that face?" Mother Nature asked with a furrowed brow.

"Oh, well, I used to get scolded a lot." Pitch told her honestly with a slight chuckle. "Not by my mother or father, but by Sanderson. He would scold me in the same way."

"_Sandy_...scolded..._you?_" Mother Nature questioned with an amused smile playing at her lips.

"Yes, and although sometimes there was a lot more yelling, and a few of them ended in sparring matches where he would always win...he would tell me what I had done wrong, and then told me what I had done to fix it...and finally, he would tell me that I've learned from it."

"Did you?"

"He would never tell me if I did if I hadn't."

"So...what do I do now? I've embarrassed myself." She told them all as she lifted herself up from the sand chair, watching it move back into Mage's body.

"You learn from it." Sandy told her. "And besides, I don't think anyone in this room can exactly blame you for your reaction to him."

"Thank you, Uncle." Mother Nature said with a grateful and slightly shy smile.

"Uncle?" Sandy questioned with a risen brow and a small smirk.

"Yes well...you were there for me in the beginning when no one else was...and when I was in the shooting star. If you do not wish for me to call you that, then I won't."

"No, it's fine. Call me what you like." He told her while feeling a small warmth in his chest. _'I have a niece.'_

She smiled at him with a bit more confidence. "Uncle it is then. However, I want you to know, if you find your heart song, I'm not calling them my aunt."

"Mother Nature, I didn't expect you to call me Uncle. I would never expect anything like that."

"Emily. If I'm going to call you Uncle, you're going to be the only one to call me Emily."

"Very well, Emily."

"Thank you." She told him. "Well...now that all of that happened...I hate to make this visit brief, but Pitch still apparently has work to do, and I have a storm to brew. Farewell." She told them as she dragged Pitch with her into her tornado of leaves.

"Well...that was awkward." Bunny said.

"Yeah..." Jack drawled out. "...but it's not the most awkward thing to happen. Does everyone remember North on New Year's?" All of the Guardian's except Mage cringed.

"Oh...was not that bad!" North said as an embarrassed blush appeared over his face.

"North...three bottles of vodka, and two bottles of spiked eggnog...and you started takin' of your clothes!" Bunny shouted as he cringed again. "You're a damn good friend, North...but NO!"

"Seriously?" Mage laughed out.

Sandy shook his head. "Trust me, Mage...you don't want to know."

"I believe you." She chuckled out. "So...now that we're up...should we get to work?"

"Do you want to?"

"Yes." She answered with an excited smile.

"Then, we will. You'll have to dress into something warmer, but we can go."

"Wait...you manage to stay warm when we worked the last couple of times..."

Sand brought his hand up to his chin rubbing at the sides with a thoughtful expression and furrowed brows. "I guess you can try that too..."

"What is it?"

"I command the sand to keep me warm."

Mage nodded and closed her eyes. 'Come on sand...I want to be warm.' As soon as she thought it, her body temperature heated up. "I did it!"

"You're warmer?"

"Yes! I did it!"

Sandy's eyes widened as his smile grew. "Alright then. Let's go."

"Okay!"


	16. Chapter 16

After successfully completing dream giving in half the time, Sandy and Mage floated back into the North Pole and noticed that it was once again in a hectic frenzy. "North, what's going on?" Sandy asked once they found him just outside his office.

"Oh! Sandy! You should pack if you have not already."

"Pack?" He asked as he tilted his head.

"Yes! For heart song festival! Yeti are preparing things for my departure, and making sure everything is in order before we leave. It is in two days! Have you forgotten?"

_'Two days...'_ He thought sadly as he let out a chuckle at himself more than North's words. "No, I haven't forgotten."

"Uh huh..." North drawled out as he looked at Sandy's expression. "Mage, do you mind if I speak with Sandy alone?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not, Mage. I just have festival stuff to talk to Sandy about. Check list kind of thing."

"Oh, okay...sure." She said as she smiled at them and made her way to her room. Once they saw that the door was shut Sandy looked up at North with a worried glare.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Come into office, Sandy."

"What? Why?"

"Just come with me." North urged as he started walking into his office.

Sandy followed reluctantly and immediately regretted it when the locks fastened behind him. "North?"

"Room is sound proof. No one will hear conversation. So, they will not hear me when I ask...why do you not want to go to heart song festival?"

"I..." Sandy sighed out as he made his way to one of North's spare chairs, and sat down with a shake of his head. "...already told you. I told you all at the pond that I..."

"That you..."

Sandy was quickly growing irritated. He knew that North had an elephant's memory. It was how he knew which presents went where and who asked for what. "You know what I said. I told you all that I...that I have fallen in love with Mage. I love her, North."

"Yes...you said that." North confirmed as he nodded his head. "Mage has become like daughter to me...rather quickly, like how Jack became like a son, but like daughter none the less."

Sandy's eyes popped open, and he honestly didn't know when he had closed them, but they were wide open in realization as he quickly darted his gaze to North. "Nicholas St. North...are you giving _me _an honest to stars shovel talk?"

"Yes, old friend. I am. However, I am also looking out for you. I can tell you do not want to go to heart song festival."

"First get the shovel talk over with, and then I will answer the festival thing."

"Can not do that. Festival and Mage are one in same problem."

"How?" Sandy questioned with a risen brow as he shifted uncomfortably in the large chair he was in.

"You love her, yes?"

"Yes."

"When did you start? It start as small crush, yes? Jack and I were not wrong?"

"Unfortunately, no...you were not wrong. I think my crush started when she could understand me and when we would 'talk'. Then, it got a little more noticeable when she pulled me into her dream and we danced for the first time. You know...she never danced until then? At least not with someone..."

"When did small crush turn into realizing love?"

"I realized it...when I thought I was going to lose her to Pitch...well...it was actually more of when she asked me to basically trap her with him. She asked me to allow her to pull him into a dream...by having me sprinkle dream sand on her, and dammit, North...it killed me when I finally sprinkled the dream sand over her. My heart ached like it never had before. I couldn't stop the tears, I couldn't breath, my heart nearly stopped, and for once...I was afraid. I was terrified, North. I was terrified that I would lose her. Almost immediately I put together everything I felt about her since meeting her, and how she was able to get me to laugh and smile so easily. I thought about how I felt when dancing with her, how it felt when I watched her use dream sand, how it felt when I saw her in the dream wearing that blue dress, how concerned I was for the wounds she had. I found that rather than wanting to be heard, for once in my _entire_ life I wanted to listen. I wanted to listen to the things about her past, whether they were good or bad, I wanted to listen about what she liked and didn't like, I wanted to listen to her talk about her hopes, wishes, and dreams...but then...she asked me to help her be trapped in a dream with him, and when she was asleep...trapped with him..." Sandy leaned forward in the chair and placed his head in his hands as he let out a shaky breath. "I was so terrified that I wouldn't be able to experience any of that again. I was terrified that I would lose her. After realizing all of that...I realized that not only had I begun to grow feelings for her, but that I had fallen for her, and I fell for her hard and fast without any warning."

North's eyes widened considerably. He had thought that maybe he would've said he realized it when they found that they could understand each other and use the dreams sand. Something a lot smaller than what he said, and now his reaction at the pond made sense to him. "You truly are in love."

"Yes...I am. Hopelessly and helplessly in love..." He trailed off as he leaned back in the chair and slid down in it. "...and then there's the heart song festival. No one can refuse to go once they have decide to go, and told the host of the event. The last spirits that did that turned to stone. I would rather not be a statue, thank you! I have to go."

"Yes, I know all too well. What I want to know is what you plan on doing with Mage. I heard what you said at the pond...but I am sensing doubt. Why?"

"North...I'm in love with Mage, I've made that clear by now...it's just...when I go to the heart song festival...I don't know what's going to happen if I find my heart song. I know I said they would have to deal with it...but will I honestly be able to deny them? The thought of being with anyone but Mage...starshine, North...it hurts! Then...if I don't find them this time either...I will swear off going to any heart song festivals, but the problem with that is that I could still hear my heart song if they happen to sing outside of the festival. You know that the festival is just a way that makes it easier rather than searching the world. What if I hear them then? What if I tell Mage my feelings after the heart song and years later hear my heart song? I don't want to hurt her. I can't. That's why I've been trying to hold back around her, but after I realized I was in love with her..."

"Your ability to hold back is crumbling."

"Yeah...it is."

"And you are worried that you will hear heart song either way..."

"Pretty much."

"So, you basically don't know what to do about situation."

"No, I don't. Then, there's the very real possibility that Mage may find her heart song there. North..." Sandy bit back a sob as tears started to fall from his eyes. "North I don't think I would be able to survive watching her with someone else."

North's eyes grew remorseful and sympathetic for his friend. He knew it was still possible to fall in love with spirits outside their heart song, giving Sandy had every right to worry because of that. "No matter what happens, old friend, we will be here with you and for you. There's just a few more things I need you to tell me."

"What is it?" Sandy sighed out as he sat up straight in the chair, facing North as he wiped away the tears.

"Do you ever plan on telling Mage your feelings for her?"

Sandy nodded with a short laugh. "Yeah..."

"Good...now personal question..." At this Sandy's eyes widened with anxiety. "...if given the choice...a genuine choice...what is the furthest type of relationship you want with Mage?"

"The furthest?"

"Yes."

"What like...crush, dating, simple love, or...married?"

"Yes, what would you..."

"Marriage." Sandy quickly interrupted with a blush growing on his cheeks. "If I...if I had the choice, I would eventually like for her to be my wife. Not immediately of course, but you did ask for the furthest relationship."

"You would court her if you could?"

Sandy chuckled at that as he looked to the floor nodding his head. "Yes, I would. I would do what I was taught to do if I was to court a woman of nobility."

"Oh? You would treat her like princess?"

"North..." Sandy laughed out. "...I would treat her like a queen!" He exclaimed as he immediately stood up to face North with a wide smile, and newfound energy at the mere thought of what he would do if he could. "I would make sure she wants for nothing. I would do everything within my power to make sure she is happy. I would give her things that would make her happy, I would take her to the places she's always dreamed of going, I would dry any sorrowful tear she may shed, I will banish her self doubts, I would...I would be whatever she needs me to be." He calmed his excitement as he sat back down in the chair. "If I had the chance to court her...I would do anything for her."

"My, my, my..." North trailed off in surprise. "You really have fallen hard and fast. Faster than anything I've ever seen."

"No, really? I haven't noticed." Sandy shot back, his voice laced with sarcasm. "And before you say anything, that was sarcasm."

"What will you do if neither of you find heart song?"

"I told you...I will swear off heart festivals and I will tell her how I feel."

"Yes, but will you tell her right after, or wait?"

"I...may wait..." Sandy told him honestly.

"How long?"

"I don't know..."

"No acceptable answer. Sandy, you told me that you do not think you could survive her being with anyone else...but she is not limited to heart song festival either, and she is very beautiful spirit, both inside and out."

"I know." Sandy admitted as his shoulders slumped, and a saddened expression crossed his features.

"She is newest Guardian and she is powerful...that will only add to things other spirits may find attractive about her."

"I know!" Sandy shouted as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration, before placing his face in his hands.

"Then, why wait? You want her and I know you would make her happy. It's all a matter of trying."

Sandy slowly lowered his hands as his eyes slowly grew wide. _'He can't seriously be...'_ He stood up slowly to face North and his heart pounded in his chest, and he honestly didn't know if it was out of hope or anxiety. "North. are you...are you trying to give me your blessing to...court Mage?"

North smiled widely at him and let out a warm chuckle while his eyes crinkled with mirth and satisfaction. "She says I am like father to her and she is like daughter to me. Besides, I have seen how you are with her, and how she is with you. I honestly don't think anyone would be better match for her, and new spirits...especially new Guardians...have offers from those who do not attend festival...and those offers come fast. You remember what happened with Jack? He had to go to festival in order to tell everyone he was looking for a specific person."

"I...y-you're g-giving me..." Sandy staggered back until his back hit one of the shelves in North's office. He held a hand to his pounding heart that immediate began to pick up pace at North's words. He swallowed a lump in his throat and let out a shaky breath. "N-North...you do know that y-you're giving me permission t-to...m-m-marry your daughter basically. I've told you what I think about courting. You...you know that, right?"

"Yes, old friend. I know. However, there is one condition that will determine if I keep giving you blessing."

"W-What is it?"

"If you do not find heart song, and neither does she, then you tell her your feelings as soon as we make it back to North Pole. You can use office if it makes you feel better. If you do that, then you have my blessing to court Mage. Yes, one of you may find the other's heart song, but is better to be happy for a moment than miserable for eternity. Even if it ends up being painful in end, you will have freely loved. What say you, Sanderson Mansnoozie?"

"I...I won't make you regret it." Sandy told him as joyful tears started spilling from his eyes. He knew North was right, and he would give up everything for just one day of her knowing that he loves her, and he was just given permission to marry her if it led up to it. "I swear I won't." He told him honestly.

"No bracelet thing?"

"I would have to swear with my name and my mother and father's name..."

"Ah...well I won't make you do that. There would be too many questions. Now, no more dreading festival, it is a festival after all. Go pack and remember, you have to wear all white. Dressers and closets should be enchanted to give you the enchanted clothing."

"Right...I almost forgot about that..."

"Yes, clothing will change color when heart song is matched. Now, go. Festival is in two days."

"Right! Thank you, North...I can't say it enough...thank you. Thank you for more than just giving me your blessing...but thank you for helping me resolve my problem. Thank you!"


	17. Chapter 17

Once Sandy was back in his room, he started doing what North suggested and he packed all of the enchanted white clothes into the enchanted travel case that was very similar to North's Christmas bag. It could fit a whole person if it needed to. As he was placing one of the white vests in, he heard a knock on his door. "Just a moment." He told the door before closing the travel case and he put it under his bed.

When he opened the door, he stood to see Mage still dressed in her yellow dress. "Sandy? I came by to check on you. I saw you rushing into your room, is everything okay?"

"Yes, the talk with North went better than expected."

"Oh? What was it about?"

"Actually, I can't tell you that. You'll find out, don't worry."

"Are you sure I'll find out?" She asked as she put a hand on her hops and gave him a smirk.

His heart skipped a happy beat, causing him to give a wide and honest smile. "If everything works out...then most definitely."

"Good to hear. Say, I also wanted to talk to you about what I'll need to pack."

"Oh, well as far as clothes go...your closet and dresser should have formal white clothes. They're enchanted. You'll know them when you see them because there's just the faintest shimmer of a rainbow on them. It goes away once it's worn, but yeah. It's there. If you..." He swallowed a lump in his throat before clearing his throat. "Sorry...if you should find your heart song, both of your clothes will change colors. No one knows what colors or designs will appear, but it matches the couple perfectly."

"Okay...so...can I ask you something? I'm not sure if you mentioned it, but it's been on my mind."

"You can ask me anything."

"Alright..." She nodded her head and walked into the room. Once he closed the door she cleared her throat. "If I...if I should hear my heart song...would I be compelled to sing it?"

"Yes, you would. You will feel a very strong urge to sing it. No one else can sing anything other than their heart songs in the place we're going. I told you that part. It's to keep people from cheating. Now, not only will you be compelled, but you'll actually start singing along with it by instinct almost. You won't be able to help it. At least that's what I've been told. Now here's the thing...once the heart song has begun, it doesn't stop until the end. Once the notes play, the performer can still think, but the stage is enchanted to keep them there no matter what. At least until the song is over."

"What if it's a duet?"

"Then you would be compelled to sing the appropriate part. At that point, the clothes would change colors, and everyone will step aside so that the two who are matched can see each other."

"What if...what if I go and I hear my hear song, but I don't want to be with them?"

"I don't know, and quite honestly, I've been wondering that myself. Now, I will say this. Those that will be wearing colors when we arrive will be people who have found their heart song. Those who are wearing white are either participants like me, or observers like you. You're um...still going aren't you?"

"Yes, I'm excited, but nervous at the same time."

"Heh...you're not the only one." He chuckled nervously. "I still don't know what to expect. I've been going for six centuries and nothing. I have decided that if I don't find my heart song when the festival is over, I will swear off heart song festivals. Don't ask me why, it just...it's something I have to do."

"Alright, I won't ask about. So, is there anything you want to talk about? I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight."

"Not even with dream sand?" Sandy asked curiously as a pang of worry made it's way into his heart. She shook her head and he furrowed his brow. "Why not?"

"I don't know...just a lot on my mind I guess. Everything from the beginning I..."

Sandy nodded his head and held her hand gently in his as he walked her to the bed. "Sit." He said as he stood next to the bed and up against the wall.

"Thank you." She told him as she sat down on the bed. "Well...it's just been a crazy week. I get murdered by someone who was supposed to be my friend, I got revived as a spirit, gained new friends...a family even, I learned about my powers, I got to know you and everyone else, the battle with Pitch which was rather short, Mother Nature coming in, and the heart song festival growing closer."

Sandy crossed his arms and let out a thoughtful breath out of his nose as he leaned against the wall. "Yeah..." He sighed out. "I can see how that would be a lot to think about. Is all of it bothering you?"

"Kind of." She shrugged. "It's bothering me, but at the same time...it's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"I know the feeling. When I came to earth and I was reduced to less than four feet tall, round, wearing a robe made of dream sand, and mute...I was nearly overwhelmed by it all. It remained that way for a long time. Then, I realized that it may be a good thing that it all happened like it did. a some millennia after that, I found a purpose for my powers and magic, and I was grateful for being mute. That way I wouldn't have any chance at waking up the children. It was still frustrating last year, but I wouldn't have traded it for the world. It led me to the people I call my friends, an ever growing world, children that I adore and that believe in me, and all of the exciting adventures in between."

"So...it get's better?"

"It did for me." He smiled at her and then gestured at himself. "As you can tell." She giggled lightly at his matter of fact expression, and the sound of her giggle warmed his ears. "You have friends here that will help you with the difficulties of being a new spirit. It was hard for all of us. I think Jack and I were in the same boat in a way. He may have been born three hundred plus years ago, but when he was a spirit, he was seen about as much as I was heard. It can be very difficult but we're here for you."

Mage smiled as she stood from his bed to face him. "Thank you, Sandy. That helps."

"Anytime, Mage. Do you think you'll be able to sleep now?"

"I think so."

"Good...now...you know...you should pack first before you rest. Make sure to pack the white clothing otherwise you won't be able to go in. The only ones wearing colors that will be able to go in are those who are known to have found their heart song."

"I'll be sure to pack it then!" She told him with excited determination.

"Good. As long as you pack that, you can pack whatever else you like. You just have to wear the white clothing when we get to the gate. They'll have a dressing room for you to change into. You'll have an hour to prepare once you get there, and I'm pretty sure North will be letting you use his area. Since he already found a heart song he doesn't need to get ready, but they prepare a dressing room for him anyway out of courtesy. That way, no one will dare bother you."

"I would appreciate that." She chuckled out nervously.

"I thought you might. Now, there is also the matter of us working tomorrow. Once we get back...we'll have to leave. Time shifts in a funny way when the portal to where we're going opens up."

"Oh, okay...so I have to go pack _now_." She stated as she realized that some things in the spirit world may be a bit more complicated than she ever thought they might be, but as long as Sandy is there to help her, she has confidence that she can learn to adapt.

"Yes, that would be best."

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Sandy didn't sleep that night. When he finished his packing he sat on his bed repeatedly going over his and North's conversations as well as all of his feelings from the past few days. As dawn crept into his room he let out a sigh as he got out of bed to change his clothes. "The festival is tomorrow." He said in a nervous whisper.

Once fully dressed in a white dress shirt, black tie, sapphire blue vest with golden swirls, dark blue pants, and black shoes, he opened the door to go meet the others for breakfast. When he got there, he was met with North, Jack, Bunny, and Mage all eating their breakfast. "Sandy! Are you trying to steal my winter look? I'm hurt!" Jack laughed out.

"Blue looks good on you." North said with an approving nod.

"Thanks, and no Jack. No one could steal your winter look. You're too unique and mischievous for that."

"Why, thank you Sandy!" Jack said as he continued to eat his eggs.

Sandy moved to sit next to Mage who had saved a spot for him. "You can blame North for your plate." Mage chuckled out as he sat down.

When he looked at his plate, he noticed there was sausage, biscuits, mini pancakes, a few strawberries, and eggs. "North..." He said as he snickered at his plate. "...the only one who could ever eat this much food is you."

"And I do so proudly!" He bellowed out in laughter. "Seriously, Sandy, you are too skinny. You need more food. Put meat on bones, make good muscles."

"I'm more fit than you think." He told North. _"And you would know, wouldn't you, Mage? From when you walked in on my shirtless?"_ He mentally asked Mage to see how she would react, and it was beautiful. A slight blush of embarrassment briefly crossed her features before disappearing.

_"Oh! You ARE worse than Jack!"_ Mage mentally shouted at him while laughing in her mind as she took a bite of her pancakes.

"So...Sandy, after breakfast will you and Mage be going to work?"

"Yes, we will." Sandy and Mage said in unison.

"Yeah, alright...because that's not creepy at all..." Bunny drawled out with sarcasm as a small smile played at his lips.

"Good." North said, ignoring Bunny's comment. "We will depart after you return. I assume you and Mage are all packed?"

"I am." Sandy said. "What about you, Mage?"

"Yes, I'm packed. I found the dress I'm supposed to wear. It's beautiful!"

"Good to know." North said with a fond smile.

"Hey, can I ask something?"

"Of course, Mage." North answered.

"Sandy said time moves differently for the portal we're going through..."

"It does. Cupid does it on purpose. The portal she uses to summon us makes us go forward twelve hours. Which is when the festival will start accepting participants and observers by the time you get back and we depart. You will need to rush and get your travel cases and take them with you. Mage, I told Cupid you will be using my dressing room so others do not disturb."

"Thank you, North. We'll return as soon as we can."

"Glad to hear it. Now eat. You will need strength."


	18. Chapter 18

After Sandy and Mage returned from silently giving dreams to children, they thankfully made it back in time and quickly grabbed their travel cases before meeting up with North, Jack, and Bunny. "Are we ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be." Sandy answered.

"Well then, Sandy and Mage..." North trailed off as a portal suddenly appeared over the Guardian symbol. "...the festival awaits."

Sandy and Mage stepped through first, and once they were through they heard the others come in after them, but Mage wasn't focusing on them. She was focusing on the large castle that looked like something out of an Arthurian legend book. "Wow..." She said.

"Yeah...Cupid has a thing for Arthurian legend..."

"I thought that's what it looked like!"

"Good guess!" Sandy told her with a wide smile. "Now, come on...we need to get changed."

"Right!"

Sandy went to his dressing room, and let out a sigh. It was in the same place it always was, and after today, no matter what happened, he wouldn't be seeing it ever again. He walked in and immediately started to get changed. His outfit wasn't completely different from usual, except it was all white, even the buckle. As he finally slipped the vest over his shoulders, he heard a knock on his door. "Yes?"

"It is North..."

"Hard to miss with that voice." Sandy laughed out.

"I have explained situation concerning your looks to Cupid and her men. She told me that Mother Nature had already informed her, and that they had spoken to Manny."

"Thank you. That helps."

"Mage is finished getting dressed, now we wait for you."

"All I have to do is button the last button...and there!" When he opened the door to leave his dressing room his heart stopped, his brain stopped working, his breath got caught in his throat, and his eyes widened. _'She looks like a bride dressed in white like that! She's...there's not an accurate word for how beautiful she looks!'_ He shouted in his mind as he noted the long dress that was loose yet form fitting to her body, and suitable for dancing in. It reached to her ankles where he noticed she was wearing white flats, but as he continued to look at the dress, he noticed the sleeves were loose as well and had open slits at her shoulders, revealing her freckles, and the sleeves themselves went down to her wrists beautifully. The top of the dress was 'V' neck cut, but it wasn't too low, and there was a sash tied around her waist with the rest of it cascading down the front of her dress.

"You look great!" She told him with a wide smile.

_'Work brain! Work!'_ He shouted and shook his head. "Thanks, but I don't really think so. You, however, look lovely."

"Oh..thank you." She said gratefully with a smile.

"Come come! Must get you to gate!" North urged and so they followed him.

"Alright now, you all know the drill. Participants and observers wearing white clothing come through the gate first!" An announcer called out.

"That's us, Mage." Sandy told her as they quickly got into line.

Once it came time for their turn, Sandy was the first to arrive at the gate. "First Name, title, and objective."

"Sanderson, spirit of wishes and Guardian of Dreams, and I am a participant."

"You...but you can't be..." The person at the gate trailed off with a baffled expression.

"He can and is. North and Mother Nature have vouched for him already." A woman with hawk colored wings came forward, and if Mage had to take a guess at her accent, she wold have to say she was from Louisiana or Mississippi.

"Well...if you're sure, Cupid."

"I am sure. Let him in."

"Very well. Give me your hand Sandy." The Guard said, and Sandy did as he was asked. Once he gave her his hand, she stamped a white heart with a microphone on the inside.

"Next!" She called as Sandy walked through the gate. "Ah, the new spirit! First name, title, and objective."

"Magerina, spirit and Guardian of Imagination, and I am an observer."

"Very good!" The woman at the gate said. "Give me your hand Magerina." Mage did as she was asked and received a white heart with an eye in the middle of it. "Good luck."

Once Mage walked through the gate she instantly felt a warm sensation all over her body, and her heart instantly felt heavy. She held a hand to her chest, and she could hear the song as if it was being sung in her ears right at that moment. The loudness of the song faded when it's tune was finished, but she could still somehow feel it was there, and she knew every word. Now, granted, she knew every word regardless because it just so happened to be from one of her favorite movies, but now she feels like she knows the song more than she ever did before. "Whoa..."

"Easy...easy..." Sandy soothed her as he held her steady keeping her from swaying. "That's it." He told her as she started to gain some of her composure back. "Downside to the first time...it packs a punch." He chuckled out. Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah." She said with a groan as she shook her head. "Now what?"

"Now...Cupid examines you and tells you what kind of love you'll have."

"Come here, darling." Cupid said with wide open arms, and Mage did as she was asked, and Cupid gave her a welcoming hug. "A new Guardian, how exciting!" She said as she squeezed the hug tighter before letting go. "Now let's see here..." She trailed off as she circled around Mage twice. "Excellent! Your's is True Love."

"What does that mean in the spirit world?"

"Such a smart new spirit!" Cupid squealed. "Oh, if only they were all as intelligent you! Now, True love in the mortal realm is usually described as two people who were fated to be together and love each other. It's similar here, but with some added things, because you see...this is the heart song festival...anyone who matches in heart song is proven that they were fated to be together once they both start singing. In our case...if we have a true love, that doesn't _just_ mean we were fated to be together and love each other, it means that our love will spark in a way that is similar to a wild fire. It will start out small and then grow faster and faster until it has been a fully realized wild fire, and that fire will burn for all of eternity in your heart no matter what. Through hardship and pain as well as the good times. Even after one of the pair dies, the love will still live on and burn. It is the highest form of love, and also the most difficult to obtain. That's a brief explanation anyway. Now go...observers wearing white stand at the front of the stage. Sandy..." She said as she turned to meet Sandy's gaze. "Handsome as always...you know where to go, darling."

"Yes, thank you, and thank you for explaining it to her."

"Not a problem, Sandy...and I must say...your voice sounds amazing, and this version of you is positively dashing! I can't wait to _hear_ you."

"Oh man...it's been _millions_ of years since I actually sang..." Sandy chuckled out as he made his way to where the participants stood.

"Come with me, darling. I'll escort you to where you'll be." Cupid held her arm out, and Mage smiled as she took it as they walked to the correct crowd. "Now, since you are the youngest spirit I'm going to clarify a few things. If you hear the heart song that matches yours...you will not be able to help but sing it. Your heart will instinctively force you to sing it and as the song is sung your clothes will change. There is also the matter that if you try and not sing, it will cause you unimaginable pain in your chest. So, don't try and stop it. North told me you've been told everything else like that, except the part where it goes from newest participant to oldest. The oldest would be Sandy. I hope you don't mind staying for him. It's good to see him at least somewhat happy to be here."

"I don't mind. I'm glad to be here for him."

"That makes me so happy. Oh! We're here. Just stand where ever you like, just as long as you stay within this crowd. Oh! And remember...don't try and hold back. It. Will. Hurt! Sing your heart out if you should hear your heart song, and let your body move in the way it wants. No one will judge you at all. Not here anyway, and if anyone does, you send them to mama Cupid, okay?"

"Okay, mama Cupid." Mage told her with a smirk. Cupid reminded her of her aunt in a way. Always so energetic, caring, and defensive.

"AHHH" She squealed. "Someone called me mama Cupid! Oh! I already like you! Now, I have to go and make sure some of the others know about Sandy. Good luck, new Guardian!"

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

The festival started rather simple. Mage heard the same brief rules Cupid told her, and then the announcer wished everyone good luck and love. Then, after seven hours of singing, some getting paired, some not getting paired, it was finally Sandy's turn. When he stepped up, Cupid stepped up with him. "Attention, all spirits. I know you were expecting Sandy, the short lovable spirit that gives dreams..." Mage looked around and noticed all of the head nods, and was glad that Sandy was loved in the spirit world. "...well this _is_ him. Mother Nature and Nicholas St. North have vouched for him, and I spoke with the Man in the Moon. This is Sandy now, and he can speak, which means he can sing! So please...listen carefully, good luck, and good love!" She stepped away from the microphone, allowing a nervous Sandy to walk up to it.

She moved closer in the crowd so that Sandy would notice her, and when he did she smiled at him. _"Sing your heart out! If it's gonna be your last time here, might as well right?"_ She thought to him and at her words he then looked at the microphone with determination. He took a deep breath and started whistling the beginning of the tune and Mage's jaw dropped as she felt her heart practically burst with happiness. It felt like warmth was flooding her entire body, and her very soul was overjoyed. Her chest felt like it was fluttering, and she smiled brightly, knowing what would happen and nearly couldn't believe it, but it was happening. Putting her frantic thoughts away quickly, she listened to Sandy begin to sing, and her jaw dropped even further at how much of a beautiful, angelic, baritone voice he had, and he was truly singing his heart out.

**"I'll swim and sail on savage seas, with ne'er a fear of drowning, and gladly ride the waves of life, if you would marry me. No scorching sun, nor freezing cold, will stop me on my journey if you will promise me your heart..."**

Mage's heart swelled with happiness and she began to sing with all her heart, allowing the notes and lyrics to flow out of her mouth like a gentle river. **"And love me for eternity..."** Sandy immediately looked for who the beautiful melodic voice belonged to, and when he saw who was singing, his heart pounded in his chest as he watched both of their clothes begin to change colors while all of the other spirits had gasped in shock that someone was singing his song. However, no one was nearly as shocked as the Guardians observing the festival. He wanted to cry tears of immense joy and embrace her immediately, but the song had to continue first. **"...my dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me, but I've no need of might deeds when I feel your arms around me."**

A few joyous tears left his eyes as he began to sing his part while watching their clothes continue to change color while she swayed to the song. **"But I would bring you rings of gold! I'd even sing you poetry, and I would keep you from all harm if you would stay beside me!"**

**"I have no use for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry...I only want your hand to hold..."**

**"I only want you near me..."**

Then, they started to harmonize and sing together. _**"To love! To kiss! To sweetly hold! For the dancing and the dreaming! Through all life's sorrows and delights, I'll keep your laugh beside me! I'll swim and sail on savage seas with ne'er a fear of drowning, and gladly ride the waves of life...if you will marry me...if you...will marry me." **_

Once the song was over, everyone gasped once more in shock at their clothes. Sandy and Cupid both forgot to mention that the clothes would also change according to what the participant was born into, whether it be nobility, mortal life, or time period. When they all saw Sandy's outfit, they were shocked beyond words at his regal look. He no longer wore his normal clothes of a vest, shirt, tie, pants, and shoe. No, now, he wore a golden circlet upon his head with diamonds embedded all around it. He wore a red cape that was fastened at his shoulders, and it had golden swirls in the design of it, mimicking the way his dream sand swirls, and the edges of it were also lined with golden fabric. His shirt and vest had transformed into a long regal long sleeved shirt that was lose yet form fitting, and the length of it went to the middle of his thighs. The shirt was a ruby color with the bottom edges lined with gold, and wrapping around his waist was a golden sash sewn in with intricate red swirls also mimicking his dream sand. His pants were golden and so were his boots, but the boots were a slightly darker shade of gold. To everyone in the crowd, he looked positively regal, and the prime example of royal nobility.

Mage's outfit had taken some changes as well, but the only addition or physical change was the golden tiara resting atop her head. Her dress was colored a deep ruby red with golden swirls, similar to the ones on Sandy's cape and sash. Her own sash was a beautiful shimmering gold. The collar's edges as well as the sleeve's and bottom edges of the dress were lined with the same golden fabric that Sandy's cape was lined with. "Sandy..." Cupid said in awe at how he looked. "...care to explain why you look like a first born prince?" Cupid questioned with eyes lit up with wonder, awe, and fascination.

"Ah...well..." Sandy trailed off nervously, not sure how the other spirits would take the news, but then he saw Mother Nature come forward and place a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and gave him a nod that said, 'Go ahead.' So, he did. "That's because I am...or I was." He clarified. "I'm not from this planet...most every knows that, but before I was the Sandman, I was part of the League of Star Captains. I navigated and unlocked wishing stars, but before that...I was the first born son to Elena and Zakaro Pitchiner."

"Pitchiner...that sounds awfully close to Pitch Black..." Cupid mentioned with concern.

"That's because it is." Mother Nature confirmed. "My father...most of you know he is my father...his real name is Kozmotis Pitchiner, and he was the second born son to Elena and Zakaro Pitchiner. You all know that in this place...no one can tell lies. No one can so much as fib, so you have no choice but to believe us. Uncle..." At that everyone gasped again. "...you are bound by the mark on your hand as a participant to tell the truth. You will not be able to lie...what was your original _full_ name?"

"My original full name was Sanderson Ezekiel Pitchiner. I am the elder brother of Kozmotis Pitchiner, Also known as Pitch Black. I left my family in search for better things, and I have found them in being the Guardian of Dreams. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"And what is your full name now?"

"Sanderson Mansnoozie. I did away with my middle and last name."

"Are you still on the side of good? Will you still protect children?"

"Absolutely!" Sandy answered with a proud and confident smile.

"Good..." Mother Nature said with a confident smile before glaring at everyone else. "Remember everyone, you cannot lie or be dishonest here. It's not possible! The ink on the stamps have truth serum on them. So, I warn you to keep in mind that I, Mother Nature, have publicly confirmed for myself that Sanderson Mansnoozie is still on the side of good, and is still a worthy Guardian. Any who dare challenge or say other wise will face my wrath and if you are under my rule I will strip you of your powers. Do I make myself clear!?"

The entire crowd erupted into a unanimous, "YES, MOTHER NATURE!"

"Good! Now, Uncle...I think you have someone to go see."

Without needing to be told twice, Sandy made a dream cloud appear beneath his feet, making him seem even more regal, and he floated down to Mage as fast as he could. Once he landed, he spun her around and held her tightly. "You're my heart song!" He choked out in the form of a small sob, still trying to hold back his tears even though they were starting to fall freely.

"And you are mine!" She told him as she embraced him.

Sandy broke away from the embrace, but kept his hands on her waist. He slowly brought a hand up to the right side of her cheek, and he leaned in to kiss her. He stopped only briefly to see if she would refuse, but she didn't. So, with that, he finally placed his lips on her and immediately felt his knees start to go weak, but he managed to not let anyone else know that by standing tall while he kissed her. Her lips tasted of mint and honey, and they were soft as well as warm against his. He quickly pulled her closer by pressing his hand to the small of her back and moving his right hand behind her neck, deepening the kiss. It took everything he had not to moan as she licked her tongue across his lips asking for entrance which he gladly granted. Their tongues entwined and they tasted each other, both holding back from making any inappropriate noises. After two minutes breathing became an important need as they separated. They were both breathing hard, and both were blushing furiously with overjoyed smiles. Sandy was honestly a bit dizzy from his first kiss and his knees still felt weak, but before he could say anything, Cupid took the microphone. "Well, damn!" Cupid squealed in delight. "I'm gonna have to admit, I'm kind of jealous! That looked like one hell of a kiss! And from a prince!"

"Former prince!" Sandy corrected with a small smile.

"Oh, nah uh, honey! From now on Sanderson Mansnoozie shall be known as Prince Sandy or Prince Sanderson, and Magerina will be known as Princess Magerina, Princess Mage, Lady Magerina, or Lady Mage! All who oppose, freely raise your hands or whatever you have to raise."

"No one rose their hands, or anything else."

"All who agree say Aye!"

"AYE!" The entire crowd shouted with pleased expressions on their faces. However, the Guardians probably shouted the loudest out of everyone while their eyes were still wide in shock.

"Good...and you two..." Cupid told them with a smirk. "If the two of you should get married, all of the spirits will know to regard you as King Sanderson or King Sandy and Queen Magerina or Queen Mage. You won't be able to avoid it now."

"Wait...can you just give us titles like that?" Mage asked curiously.

"At the heart song festival I can, and I did. All of the spirits attending have unanimously agreed so these are your new additional titles."

"I'm...I'm really a prince again?"

"In the spirit world, yes, and you can still be yourself to your heart's content."

"Thank you!" Sandy told her with grateful eyes, just before turning his gaze to his heart song. "We...have some things to discuss...don't we?"

"Yes, I think we do." Mage answered with a fond smile and joyful eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

Once the crowd dissipated, leaving only Cupid, Mother Nature, Cupid's men and women, and the heart song matches, Cupid took to the microphone again and practically beamed with Joy. "Alright love birds! Now the second part of the festival begins! The eldest participant takes the first dance with their heart song and to the song they match! Prince Sandy...Lady Mage...please."

Sandy watched as all of the other spirits moved away from the center of the courtyard, leaving more than enough space for dancing, and they all wore wide smiles that held curiosity, joy, and anxiousness, but they weren't his main focus. He gently took Mage's right hand and lifted it up in between them while putting his right hand behind his back, and then he walked her out to the middle. Once there, he brought Mage to stand in front of him, and let go of her hand briefly. He brought his right over his heart, his left hand behind his back, and he bowed while keeping his eyes on hers. "May I have this dance, my lady?" He questioned with confidence and joy. Meanwhile, Cupid was doing everything she could not to squeal in delight at watching something right out of an Arthurian legend or the other books she's read about kings and queens, and it was all happening right before her eyes. Sandy stood up straighter and held out his hand for her to take it.

"You most certainly may!" Mage exclaimed as she took his hand in her's while her heart started to beat faster.

Sandy pulled her hand up to the proper position, placed a gentle hand on her hips, and was pleased when Mage placed a confident yet gentle hand on his shoulder. "Now, you will know what it truly feels like to dance at a ball, Mage. A royal ball. You're dressed for the part, we have titles, and everyone is watching. Just keep your eyes on me, my love." Sandy told her aloud for everyone to hear, but he did so in a way that made it seem as if there weren't thousands of other spirits surrounding them. He spoke to her like he did in their dreams.

_'My love?'_ She nearly swooned at the words, but nodded her head with a smile. When they heard their song being played they noticed that their voices were singing, and instruments were added in. Once it got to the singing part, Sandy began to dance with her in a gentle waltz, earning the gasps and impressed looks from those around them. He kept time perfect as they danced and spun in there waltz, and everyone witnessed just how exceptional of a dancer Sandy was, and how remarkable Mage was for keeping up perfectly with him through all of the spins and twirls. There had been hearts songs who have danced who had to get the hang of dancing in the middle of the song, and it happened more often than not, but what was happening for everyone to see was truly like watching royalty dance in a courtyard in front of a castle. It left nearly everyone breathless and speechless in awe. As the last note sounded, their dance slowed until they stopped. Sandy then lowered his right hand, but used his left hand to grab Mage's hand and gave it a gentle and caring kiss before letting it go. "Oh my...it was like watching royalty." Cupid squealed, unable to hold in her delight any longer. "How remarkable, graceful, and just stunning! It's going to be hard for anyone to top that. Thank you, Prince Sandy and Lady Mage. If you wish to stay, you are more than welcome to, if you wish to return to your duties or to the North Pole where your friends are eagerly waiting, then you can do that as well."

"Thank you, Cupid. I think we will go meet up with our friends."

"Very well. Congratulations to you both."

"Thank you." Sandy said as he gave her a slight bow, making Cupid herself blush. With a satisfied smile, Sandy took Mage's arm in his own and walked them toward their changing rooms outside of the gate to collect their things, and then they stepped through the portal labeled, 'North Pole'.

Once they found themselves back at the North Pole, they saw North, Bunny, Jack, Tooth, and Pitch waiting for them. "My, my, my...Mage certainly looks like the epitome of Royalty." Pitch said with genuine awe and shock as his eyes widened considerably. "I take it they were telling the truth about her being your heart song."

"Yes, she is." He said as he gracefully held her hand.

"And you..." Pitch started with his eyes still wide in shock. "...I never could've imagined or dreamed I would see you wearing those clothes. The last time I saw you wearing them was the last ball you attended."

"Yes, I remember." Sandy chuckled out. "So, what all did they tell you?"

Pitch tilted his head in confusion. "What else is there to tell me? They told me that you found your heart song."

"Oh...well, I guess that leaves me with the shocking announcement Cupid made."

"Announcement?"

"Your daughter...she vouched for me and my form at the festival. She also used the stamp on my hand that had a truth serum in it...she used it to ask me who I originally was and what my name was originally. Now everyone knows we're brothers and if not everyone...it soon will be. They also know I am the first born prince, and that Mother Nature is my niece. Not only that, but after I kissed Mage, Cupid declared that I be named Prince Sanderson or Prince Sandy, and for Mage to be known as Princess Magerina, Princess Mage, Lady Magerina, or Lady Mage. She asked the entire crowed if anyone opposed...no one did, then she asked for whoever agreed, they all said 'Aye!' Mother Nature was there to witness it, and it was unanimous."

"My...that's...you have your noble status back."

"Yes, that I do."

"Don't forget what she said about what'll happen if the two of ya get married." Bunny said with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

"Oh...right..." Sandy chuckled nervously.

"What did she say?"

"She said that..." Sandy trailed off, starting to feel embarrassed. "...that if we were to get married...the spirits would call us king and queen."

"As well they should. Now, I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to hear your singing." Pitch mentioned with a smile.

"Oh! Me too! Please, will you two sing your song for us? I've never heard Sandy sing before...well no one has until today, and I want to hear what Mage's voice sounds like."

"It's the most beautiful thing you'd ever heard." Sandy said as he took her hand. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Mage told him honestly as she gripped his hand a littler tighter.

Sandy then started to whistle the beginning of his tune, getting confused looks from Tooth and Pitch, but the others knew better. Then, he started singing, and both Tooth and Pitch audibly gasped at the sound of his voice. **"I'll swim and sail on savage seas, with ne'er a fear of drowning, and gladly ride the waves of life, if you would marry me. No scorching sun, nor freezing cold, will stop me on my journey if you will promise me your heart..."**

**"And love me for eternity..."** Mage gave him a loving smile as she swayed while holding his hands. **"...my dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me, but I've no need of might deeds when I feel your arms around me."**

**"But I would bring you rings of gold! I'd even sing you poetry, and I would keep you from all harm if you would stay beside me!"**

**"I have no use for rings of gold, I care not for your poetry...I only want your hand to hold..."**

**"I only want you near me..."**

Then, they started to harmonize and sing together. _**"To love! To kiss! To sweetly hold! For the dancing and the dreaming! Through all life's sorrows and delights, I'll keep your laugh beside me! I'll swim and sail on savage seas with ne'er a fear of drowning, and gladly ride the waves of life...if you will marry me...if you...will marry me."**_

When they were done they turned to face the others, and were taken back by the sight before them. Although Bunny, Jack, and North were simply smiling, Tooth's jaw was dropped and she had stopped flying. She was now standing on the floor, which she only did if she was overwhelmed, and judging from the gentle tears falling from her eyes, she was. "Tooth?" Sandy questioned cautiously.

"It was...that was so beautiful. It's more than just the song and your voices that are beautiful too! The two of you danced in the dreams the two of you shared...which is literally dancing and dreaming, and the fact that Mage is the first person to really make you laugh, Sandy, and she'll keep it beside her now...always...I don't think a heart song has ever fit anyone so perfectly."

"I..." Sandy's eyes widened. "I...hadn't realized. You're right." He told her with a smile playing at his lips, but then his eyes caught something he never thought he'd see. "Koz?"

"Yeah?" Pitch said as he tried to hold his composure.

"Are you crying, brother?"

"No!" He shot out while he rubbed at his eyes. "I just...have sand in my eyes...that's all."

"Come now, you know you can't lie to me."

Pitch rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, yes, I'm crying okay? Sandy...even other planets said you had the most beautiful voice in the entire galaxy we lived in, and I always loved your voice...I had thought you died...I thought I would never so much as hear your speaking voice...and now...after a hundred million years later...I hear it, but not only that...it's your heart song, and you were right, her voice is quite something to behold...and when the two of you sang together...it was...well...majestic."

Sandy gave him a fond smile and made his way towards Pitch, and wrapped his arms around Pitch's neck, causing Pitch to almost instinctively return his brother's embrace. "Good to have you back, Kozmotis."

"I don't know if I'm back, but it's certainly good to be here." Pitch told him with a sniffle as he tightened the embrace just before letting it go.

"Glad to hear it." Sandy said as he patted Pitch's shoulder.

North then cleared his throat. "Sandy..." Once he got Sandy's attention, he gave him a knowing glare. "...remember what we spoke about?"

"Oh! Yes!" Sandy shouted, feeling a whole new level of happiness. He turned to face Mage and walked over to gently and nervously take her hands in his. "Mage, there's something I need to speak with you about. North said we could use his office."

"Okay." Mage said with a concerned expression.

"There's nothing to worry about, my love. Not anymore, at least."

"Oh! Sandy is so romantic!" Tooth squealed.

"I'm surprised at this as well." Pitch said as an amused smirk crossed his features.

Sandy chuckled low and led Mage to North's office, her hand in his. Once they got there, Sandy closed the door behind them, and was suddenly more nervous about his next words than anything before in his long life. "Sandy?" Mage questioned as she noticed his hesitancy to turn around. "It's nothing to worry about, right?"

"Right." Sandy said as he turned around to face her. "I'm just...nervous, I suppose, and you look..." Sandy trailed off as he finally got a good look at her and the clothes she was wearing. "My brother is right. You are the epitome of royalty. You look completely stunning and I...I'm wondering if perhaps...Is this all some dream you pulled me into?"

Mage chuckled as she shook her head. "No it's not, but I think you knew that."

"Right, I do...just wanted to make sure. I just...can't believe...no one should be allotted this much happiness, Mage...no one." He breathed out with a wide but nervous smile before clearing his throat to tell her everything he felt. "When um...when Manny turned you into a spirit and told me to look after you and train you, I didn't think much of it, and honestly I was happy that I would be able to help you, but I didn't think anything would come of it. Certainly not this." He chuckled out nervously. "Mage, you understood me when no one else did, you made me laugh, you made me feel joy in ways that I couldn't imagine, you brought wonder to my life by you just being you, you somehow got me to remember my past fondly rather than dejectedly, and you certainly made my dreams come true when you sang at the festival."

"Sandy...that's..." Mage trailed off with a blush, but couldn't say anything more as a soft smile graced Sandy's features.

"Allow me to finish, love...please?" He told her with all of the compassion he could muster beneath his nervousness. When she smiled and nodded her head, he let out a shaky breath. "You...have brought out the best in me in such a short amount of time. You brought out a side that was pretty much non-existent, and as I spent more time with you...talking, creating, laughing, worrying, dancing, dreaming, and just being near you...in that short amount of time...I had fallen so completely in love with you. That's what the talk with North was about. He found out without me saying anything and he...he um...he told me..."

"Wait...you're in love with me?" She asked cautiously to make sure she heard him right.

"Yes, I am. I fell hard and fast for you, Magerina, and without warning...I found myself dreading the festival more than ever, because for once I hoped that I would never find my heart song, but then you turned out to be the one, and you can't imagine how much I wanted to jump off that stage and run to you. I was overjoyed, Mage. I know...it may sound a bit sudden, but..."

"No! I..." For a split second, Sandy felt something ugly twist in his heart when she said 'no', but he allowed her to continue. "...I...feel the same! I...when we were dancing at North's ball...the one for me being a guardian...I realized sometime during then that I had fallen in love with you, and I thought I was foolish for falling so hard and fast within such a short time, but...I did."

"Y-You felt the same? Truly?"

"Yes, I did, and I thought that there was no chance you would think the same...and then when we sang our heart song..."

"By the stars..." Sandy whimpered out as fresh tears started falling. Unable to stand on his feet anymore, he quickly moved to sit down in the chair, and then placed his face in his hands as pure relief and joy flooded over him.

"Sandy? Sandy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." He assured her. After another minute he looked up at her, cheeks red and eyes slightly puffy as tears were smeared on his face. "Not even you could imagine how unbelievably happy I am right now. I was worried that...well, at first I was worried I would _never_ find my heart song, then _you_ came along and I was worried that I _would_, then North brought up the possibility of _you_ finding _your_ heart song, and I...it was too much...and I didn't think...I didn't think you would feel the same. I was prepared to tell you how I felt and wait for a response...I wouldn't have cared if it took decades, I would've waited, and all the while I would've treated you with all the love you deserved while being whatever you wanted me to be, even if that meant just a friend. Then, you say that you've felt the _same_..._AND_ your're my heart song!" At the last sentence he stood up once more and took her hands in his with a loving smile.

"And not even you could know how much of a dream come true all of this is for me. Not to mention the fact that I'm a princess now!" She laughed out the last part, but then she remembered the kiss they shared and how it was his first. "Hey, let me ask you...what did you think of your first kiss?"

"My knees were weak." He told her honestly.

"Glad it wasn't just me..." She laughed out. "Oh! Since we're each other's true love...wouldn't that make that kiss true love's first kiss?"

Sandy's eyes went wide, and his brow rose while a large smile appeared over his face. "I suppose it would."

"Yup, this is definitely a dream come true...Oh! you said North told you something?"

"Y-Yes...he um...you said you see him as a father right?"

"Yes. He's a better father than my own."

"And he sees you like a daughter so...when he found out how I felt...he asked me questions and I told him only the most honest things...and he...gave me his blessing to court you."

"He...gave you his blessing?"

"Yes, I didn't ask, he just gave it."

"Well, I'm glad he did."

Sandy's eyes went even wider in shock. "So you...wait...what do you think of courting."

"I think it's kind of like dating but instead of just going on a few outings it's about doing stuff to prove you love the other person until someone proposes marriage, and then you continue courting until the wedding day."

"That's...around the same way I see it. So wait...are you saying you'll..."

"Well...you did kind of ask me in our heart song."

"I...you'll..." Sandy's heart swelled and pounded so much he was sure it would've busted out of his chest. _'No...I want to do this right, and if she's saying what I believe she's saying...I won't have to worry about courting her.' _Sandy took in a shaky breath and knelt down on one knee in front of her, placing both his hands on his knee that was pointing up, and he bowed his head low to his princess, and he remembered his father's words. _'The only person a prince or king should ever kneel to is their queen or their intended. Remember that well, and kneel to no one but her.' _He heard her gasp in shock, but kept his head bowed to her as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "My Lady Magerina, spirit and Guardian of Imagination, my heart song, and my true love. I, Sanderson Mansnoozie, formerly known as Sanderson Ezekiel Pitchiner, eldest son to Elena and Zakaro Pitchiner, do hereby swear to you that I will do my best to make you happy. I will personally protect and guard your hopes, wishes, an your dreams. I will make sure that you remember the good times more than the bad. I swear to you that I will love you until my dying breath and beyond. I swear to you that you will want for nothing and I will treat you like the queen you deserve to be treated like. This is my solemn oath to you, Magerina." At his words, he heard her gasp again, and he immediately felt the bracelet appear.

"Sandy...that bracelet can kill you!"

Sandy smiled as he kept his head bowed to her. "Only if I do not keep to my oath, and I _will_ do so until my last breath." He took in a deep breath before letting out a shaky one. Once he was a bit calmer he asked, "Will you, Magerina, allow me to be with you for the dancing and the dreaming? Will you allow me to keep your laugh beside me? Will you...marry me?" The last two words he looked up, and saw her beautiful smile with tears running down her face.

"YES!"

"She...she said yes..." Sandy whispered out in disbelief while still kneeling on the floor. "You said yes!" He shouted as he leapt up from his kneeling position and pulled her into their second kiss. His knees going weak once again, and this time he traced his tongue on her lips, earning a soft moan from Mage as she let him in, which caused him to pull her deeper into the kiss with a moan of his own that sent a pleasant shiver down Mage's spine. After about a minute they ended the kiss, and looked at each other with joyful eyes and loving smiles. "I think...we should go tell the others..." Sandy told her while trying to regain his breath.

"I think you're right."

"I'll have a ring made for you." Sandy told her eagerly and honestly.

She smirked up at Sandy and shook her head as she sang, **_"I have no use for rings of gold..."_** She let the note carry out a bit as Sandy gave a short laugh. "...Remember?" She questioned with her smirk growing wider.

"Either way, I would like to get you one, and I will wear a matching one so I can show with pride that I have the most beautiful, kindest, most gracious, and most loving woman in all the universe."

She chuckled at him again and sang, **_"I care not for your poetry..."_** She let out a laugh when he rolled his eyes in fondness at her. "If you want to give me a ring, that's fine. I think I would enjoy wearing an engagement ring and then a wedding band."

"That's good." Sandy said as he wiped her tears away, allowing her to do the same to him. When both of their tears were wiped away he took her hands and smiled at her. "Now, let's go tell the others the good news."


	20. Chapter 20

When Sandy and Mage made it back to the globe, they were met with the Guardians and Pitch, who were apparently waiting for something. "So...how did talk go?"

"North...did you tell them?" Sandy questioned with a quirked brow as he tried and failed to hide his amusement.

"I told them you go to confess feelings and that I gave permission to court Mage. That is all I told them. So, did it go well?"

"It..." Sandy breathed in with a wide smile at Mage who was still looking every bit the strong and gracious princess he thought she was. He let out a sigh as he said, "...went better than okay."

"How so?"

"Well..." Sandy chuckled lightly. "...when we were talking we figured out a few things, and after that..."

"Sandy...why are you wearing an oath bracelet?" Sandy questioned with worry, which got everyone's attention.

"Because, I made an oath for her. To guard her hopes, wishes, and dreams. To help her remember the good times rather than the bad, and that I would love her until my dying breath. I took an oath for her and I plan to keep it. After I made the oath and the bracelet appeared. I asked her to marry me..."

"And I said yes!" Mage exclaimed with pure joy in her voice that had Jack grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"OH MY GOODNESS! OH MY GOODNESS! OH MY GOODNESS!" Tooth squealed as she flew around in circles in the air. "THIS IS AMAZING NEWS! OH MY GOODNESS!" She flew back down in front of them and gave them tight but quick hugs. "I'm so happy for the both of you!"

"Alright Sandy! Congratulations to the both of you!" Jack shouted as he balanced himself happily on his staff.

"Good on ya, mate! She's one helluva gal! And good on _you_, Mage, for sayin' yes!"

Mage thank them, then looked at Pitch who was wearing a joyfully proud expression. "You know..." She trailed off with a smirk as she walked a bit closer to him. "...this means you'll be my brother-in-law."

Pitch glanced at Sandy for approval of what he was about to do and received a single joyful nod. Pitch took her hand and gave it a quick kiss. "I would be honored to call you my sister-in-law. I would be honored to call you...family." He then gave Sandy a mischievous smirk, and watched in mild delight as his brother's jaw dropped and his brow furrowed in frustration just before he gave Mage a light peck on the cheek.

"Kozmotis..." Sandy warned as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"Ah, it seems I may have overstepped my boundaries." Pitch joked as urged Mage to go back to Sandy. Once she made it to his side, Sandy smirked at Pitch as he took Mage's hand in his.

"THIS IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!" North boomed out, practically shaking the windows with his bellowing and joyous laughter.

"I would have to agree." Pitch said. "Do you mind if I join in on the celebrations?"

Everyone looked at Pitch with shocked expressions, but after only five seconds, North was laughing again. "Of course! You are part of family."

"I am?"

"Yes..." Sandy said. "North thinks of Mage as a daughter...so yes you technically are...in a way."

"Well then...thank you."

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

As North was working with the other Guardians to set up the North Pole for the grandest celebration it's ever seen, Pitch told them to go get some rest in their rooms while he helps them get everything set up in a way that was similar to their old lives. Sandy agreed, knowing he needed some sleep and walked away with Mage behind him.

However, instead of going to their separate rooms, they went into Sandy's room to talk. Once there, they both gave loving looks to one another. "So..."

"You said yes." Sandy stated, feeling his heart pound with joy.

"And I'll say as many times as it takes for you to know that I mean it."

"Will you now?" Sandy said with a daring smile. He stepped closer to her, moving a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. _'I should probably not do this...considering she JUST said yes...but...'_ His thoughts trailed off as his heart began to pound faster with excitement and want. He still remembered the way she looked at him when his shirt was off, and now that he knew he would have her forever, he felt as if he couldn't control himself, but tried to anyway. He gave her chaste kiss on the lips. "Marry me."

"Yes..." She breathed out. _'I probably shouldn't hope that this is more than kissing and questions considering I JUST said yes, but the fact that he loves me too...and we're engaged...then there's __the way he looked when he was shirtless and how he looks now...__'_

The way she breathed it out sent a shiver down Sandy's spine. _'I'll stop if she says stop. It'll be difficult...but I will...'_ He placed a kiss on the same cheek Pitch had kissed, so he could make his lips the ones that are remembered there. "Marry me." He said again.

"Yes..." She breathed out again, enjoying the feeling of his lips on her.

Sandy smirked just before nibbling at her ear lightly, earning him a moan and a shudder from Mage. "Marry me." He said as he licked the ridge of her ear.

"Y-Yes." She sighed out, feeling her knees going weak.

Sandy felt a pleasant shiver go up his spine at the way she was reacting to such simple touches. He moved to her neck and smiled briefly before kissing and lightly sucking at it. Not enough to leave a hickey, but certainly enough for her to moan lightly at the contact. "Marry me."

"Yes."

Sandy repeated the action at the nape of her neck. "Marry me."

"Yes." She moaned out. _'There's no way this is just kissing and questions!'_ She sighed in her mind.

Sandy moaned slightly at the sound she made and he lightly repeated the action on her collar bone. "Marry me, Mage."

"Yes!" She moaned out as he kept kissing her collar bone repeatedly. She then placed her hands on his shoulders, feeling the strong urge to undress him.

"You're eager aren't you?" He chuckled low while gazing at her with all the fondness in the world, which sent a warmth straight to Mage's hips. Sandy then went up from her collar bone slowly giving kisses as he made his way back to her ear, earning moans and sighs from her. "Let me get it. It's a bit difficult." He told her as he decided to keep the circlet for now, but began unclasping his cape. He then took off his regal shirt as well as the loose shirt that was underneath it. Then, he tossed the clothes to the floor in front of the bed, standing there shirtless as he then toed off his boots, then tugged off his socks. He took quick notice of the look of desire in her eyes grew as she looked him up and down. _'She wants this too. Good.' _Sandy stepped towards her until their bodies were nearly touching, and he smiled lovingly and confidently as he took her hands to place them on his chest. "Like what you see, Mage?"

_'Oh dear God...it should be illegal to be able to hide this much muscle under clothes! His skin is so smooth and muscular and warm!'_ The thoughts continued as she nodded her head and moved her hands up his chest and to his shoulders, lightly massaging them, causing a groan of pleasure to leave Sandy's mouth. "Yeah, I do." She told him as she started to massage his biceps, feeling the muscles under her palms and fingers as she rubbed at them. _'How is it possible for him to have this much muscle!?'_

As she thought that, Sandy gently grabbed her arms and brought them back to his chest, giving her small kisses on her cheeks. He then took her left arm and kissed from the tip of the ring finger, up her forearm, sliding up the sleeve up with every kiss to give him access to her skin. Then he slowly kissed up her bicep, before finally kissing her shoulder. "Good." He whispered in her ear with a pleased voice. Then, he started to gently kiss at the nape of her neck until he kissed up to her ear, earning soft sighs and light moans the entire way as he gave her goosebumps.

"I um...I thought..."

"Yes?" He asked with a smirk as he lightly sucked on her ear. "You thought what, my love?"

"I um...thought you said..." She tried to speak but everything he was doing was setting her nerves on fire and the heat that pooled in her lower region was starting to make her legs go even weaker. "...I thought you said...you never had sex." Sandy leaned away from her, chuckling low, understanding and sweet.

Once Sandy could get a good look at her, he noticed her pupils were blown with desire. Not lust or a deep want, but desire for someone she loves. He quickly remembered her question and smirked at her. He slowly and lovingly wrapped a hand around her waist, placing a palm at the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. He then brought the side of his index finger to tip her chin up to make her look him in the eyes rather than at his chest, and his smirk deepened when he heard the gasp that escaped her lips. "Just because I've never had sex..." He placed a gentle and chaste kiss to her lips. "...doesn't mean I don't know how." Sandy told her as he kissed the bottom of her chin and trailed three kisses down her neck before leaning back up, listening to the gasps she made with every kiss.

"I can definitely...tell...you know how to turn me on." She told him bluntly through gasps as he lightly gripped her shoulders and massaged them the same way she did to him.

Sandy gave her a fond smile at her words and sighed lightly shaking his head. "My love, I have done nothing compared to what I _plan_ to do."

Her eyes went wide at his words and she gained more goosebumps up and down her arms. _'He's being so sweet and sexy like this. He's still Sandy even during the beginning of sex...He's being gentle and caring as he kisses all over my body, and he wants this as much as I do, maybe even more. He is still sweet and confident and loving...and he's turning me into a puddle of goo just from kissing me! What am I going to turn into if this is nothing compared to later!?' _She shouted in her head as he came back down to kiss her lips. When their lips met this time, it wasn't chaste at all. Sandy licked the bottom of her lips, asking for entrance and she gave it, relishing in how his tongue was exploring her mouth as it was sending an electric feeling all over her body.

While he continued to kiss her she wanted to try something. She allowed her hands to roam his chest, to feel the skin and the muscles, and then she gently ran her thumbs over his nipples. "AHHH!" He moaned out, breaking the kiss. With a smirk quickly growing on her face, and a bit more confidence, she slowly repeated the action three more times. "M-Mage!" He moaned out as he grabbed her hands and placed them at her sides. The look in his eyes along with his panting breath made her smirk widened even further.

"I think I found a turn on spot." She said in a sing-song tone. Getting an idea, while his hands kept their grip on her wrists, she leaned down and licked his right nipple.

"AHHH! M-Mage!" When she pulled away, he was at a loss for breath. "_You_...have had sex before. Haven't you?" He panted out as he could feel his dick hardening.

"I have." She told him honestly. "Is there something wrong with that?" She questioned slightly nervous for his answer.

"Not at all! You know what you like, and I'll...get to find that out...all the while...finding out what I like."

"Wait...you mean...you've never even..."

"No, I've never masturbated before." He told her with a shy smile. "However..." Sandy turned his shy smile into a small smirk as he pulled her close and brought his right hand up to her breast and started massaging, causing a flurry of pleasured gasps and pants to leave Mage's mouth. "...I have no doubt that I can please you." He then leaned down to the left side of her neck and kissed gently before sucking at it, causing her to moan as he started leaving a bright red mark. When he was done he took a moment to look at her. She was breathless and panting at what he had done. He continued to massage her breast with a smirk. "Do you doubt my ability?"

"Not...at...all." She told him as she grabbed his hand and had a flash of an idea come to mind. She's never done it before, but they were both trying some new things. She gently took Sandy's hand and took his first two fingers into her mouth, lightly sucking at them and licking her tongue around the fingers.

"S-Starshine M-Mage!" Sandy groaned out as he felt his own pants become almost unbearably tight.

"Starshine?" She questioned before taking his palm and kissing it gently. She then began to trail kisses from his hand all the way up to his shoulder.

"It uh...it's my version of a...a cuss word. The equivalent...would be...the word 'shit', but I...like my word better."

"Hmm..." She hummed and it sent shivers on the spot her lips touched. "...me too." Sandy shuddered when she lightly grazed her teeth against his shoulder. _'If things don't hurry up to the bed, I really am going to turn into a puddle of goo! Even his reactions are turning me on.' _Mage slid her hands down his chest, onto his six pack, and there she traced the muscles with a hitch in her breath at how they felt. After enjoying the feel of it, she allowed her hand to go to his waist. When she heard him groan she smiled and slowly slid her hand to his the very front of his clothes. When she felt what she was looking for, her eyes went wide. _'Oh my...!'_ Before she could finish the thought she heard Sandy groan her name in pleasure as he gently pushed her away.

Sandy felt like his nerves were being set ablaze. His heart was pounding, and the rush of pleasure he felt from her touching him there nearly made him dizzy. He looked at her and saw the confident smile she wore. "Bed!" He told her with a hungry look.

"What?" She asked with wide eyes. _'Did that actually work?'_

Sandy shook his head and wrapped his arms underneath her butt and thighs, picked her up off the ground, and carried her to his bed where he carefully laid her down on it. "I said bed." He told her with a loving smile and mischievous eyes.

Mage looked up at Sandy who was smiling fondly at her. When she noticed his eyes she swallowed a lump in her throat. _'His pupils are blown...and what I CAN see...his eyes are like two pools of sunsets. How did I not notice that before?' _She gently rubbed a hand against his forearm. "Bed it is, then." She told him with a soft smile.

"Hmm...you know..." He trailed off as brought his knees to the other side of her. "I think it's unfair..." He told her as he started to bunch up the bottom of her dress until it was at her knee.

"W-What's unfair?" She questioned while mentally making the snarky remark of, _'How much your turning me on right now? Because yeah...that's a little unfair...'_

"You're wearing more clothes than me." He told her with a low tone that made Mage moan.

She kicked off her shoes and smirked at him. "There. Now we're even."

Sandy shook his head with pure desire and love in his eyes. "No, we're not..." He whispered in her ear as he slowly slid his hand underneath the bunched up part of the dress, and he gently grabbed her thigh.

"AHHHH! S-Sandy!" She moaned out loud.

Sandy repeated the action going up just a bit higher, gaining a similar reaction, which sent a fire to his core. "I love hearing my name on your lips...I wonder how it would sound if you moaned my full first name."

"I-I thought you...didn't like g-going by that name t-to often...W-Why would you want to hear THAT!?" The last word was moaned out as a shout as he moved his hand up more, grabbed at the very top of her thigh.

"Something tells me I wouldn't mind hearing it from you, my love. Oh, and you're still wearing more clothes than me."

"No I'm not..." She chuckled out. "...you're wearing a belt, pants, and underwear. I'm wearing a dress, bra, and panties. That's three for three."

"Is it now...?" Sandy questioned rhetorically with a confident smirk as he straightened himself up, knees still on the left side of Mage's body, and he began to slowly take off his belt. When he tossed the belt to the floor he watched her swallow a lump in her throat, causing him to chuckle lightly as he lowered himself, took off his circlet and her tiara and set them on the nightstand nearby. "_Now _I believe you are _truly_ wearing more than me." He whispered in her ear before quickly sucking on her earlobe, eliciting a loud moan from her.

He watched her sit up, and moved to help her with what she was going to do, and together they pulled off her dress and tossed it haphazardly to the floor, not caring where it landed. Mage laid back on the bed in just her red bra and panties which had also changed color during their song, and she looked up to see Sandy's jaw was dropped and his eyes were wide. "I...I'm not very attrac-Oomf!" Suddenly Sandy's lips were on hers, furiously kissing her lips, pulling out moans from her one after the other. He then gently tugged on her bottom lip with his teeth, gaining a very loud moan as he let go to look at her again.

"Don't you _ever_ finish _that_ sentence." Sandy said as he looked at her body from neck to ankle, in awe of her beauty. "By the _stars_, my love...you are beautiful."

_'Clean up, aisle bed...there is, in fact, a puddle of goo in Sandy's bed.'_ She thought to herself as she swooned completely at his words and the fact that she was in his bed. "Y-You think so?" She dared to ask as she lifted her hands up to brush her fingers against his nipples again.

"Y-YES! OH!" He moaned out as she touched the sensitive area on his chest. "Yes! You are beautiful!" He groaned out in a pleasure filled daze. "I haven't even seen you completely yet, but by all the stars you _are_ beautiful!" He laid a gentle hand on her stomach just before kissing her belly button, earning a contented sigh. He then slowly began to give small light kisses leading up to the middle of her perfectly rounded breasts, and kissed in between her chest just before kissing the left breast, and then the right. Mage sighed and smiled at his kisses, and decided to slowly get up, and unclasp her bra. Sandy looked at her with widened eyes once more and a loving smile as he hooked a finger underneath the middle of the bra and started to gently and slowly pull it off of her, tossing it somewhere near the dress. When he looked back at her chest his breathing stopped. "Oh, Mage...you're perfect." He told her in the form of a sigh, just before taking one of her nipples into his mouth, slowly sucking on it while twirling his tongue around it.

"S-Sandy!" She cried out in a moan as her panties started to become rather wet at just him sucking on her breasts.

"Did you...?" Sandy asked her as he slowly lifted his head from her breast.

"Y-Yes...and if you keep going, it's very likely to happen again." She sighed out, craving his mouth to be there again.

Sandy got up off the bed and for a moment Mage was extremely confused and worried she had somehow done something wrong, but then he started pulling down not just his pants but his boxers as well, and what came out made her eyes go wide, and a lump formed in her throat while her heart pounded. In between Sandy's legs stood a proud and ready eight inch dick that was just thick enough for her to wonder if he would fit. "Now, you're wearing more clothes than me again." He said confidently as he pulled the covers from underneath her, and then pulled them over the both of them. He reached his hand down to her panties and felt how wet they were, and felt his member twitch in anticipation. He tugged them off gently, and was pleased when she lifted her hips to help him. Then, they were tossed to the floor somewhere near the bra and dress. Unable to take how painfully hard he was getting, he tapped on the top of the nightstand twice, and there was a brief glow. "Fun little trick about the dressers, nightstands, and closets. If you tap them, and think of an object or article of clothing you want, it magically appears.

"Like a condom?" Mage questioned, feeling the sudden urge for him to be inside her.

"Like a condom." He chuckled out as he pulled one out, unwrapped it, tossed the wrapper in the trash can next to the bed, and then he covered his member with it. Once covered, he looked at Mage with loving and adoring eyes. "May I?"

"Yes, please!" She said as she nodded her head.

Sandy nodded his head as she spread her legs for him, and he slowly lined himself up and carefully entered her. "M-Mage..." He sighed out as he easily went in.

"S-Sanderson!" She moaned out in pure pleasure as he kept going further in.

At the sound of her calling him by his full first name, he groaned in ecstasy as pleasure shook his entire body, making him instinctively push as far in as he could. "Oh, Mage!" He moaned out once he was fully in.

"M-Move...please!" She begged as she felt immense pleasure and the desperate need for friction pool down where Sandy was at. At her words, that's exactly what he did. Sandy started moving slowly in and out, his own sounds of pleasure leaving his lips as well as Mage's sounds leaving hers. "F-Faster!" She moaned out, and per her request, he did.

After a while, Sandy felt like he wasn't going to last any longer. "M-Mage...I'm gonna..."

"Please!" She said and then instantly shouted, "Sanderson!"

"Magerina!" Sandy shouted as they came together.

After Sandy had thrown away the condom and gotten them both cleaned up, he put their clothes in a dirty laundry basket, and then climbed back into bed and under the covers to hold Mage in his arms. As she pressed his back to his chest, and felt his strong arm wrap over her like a protective barrier she hummed in delight and felt completely content. "So..." She trailed off in a happy hum.

"So..." He blissfully repeated. "...I gave you my virginity."

"That you did, and that...was the second most amazing thing I've ever felt."

Suddenly Sandy flinched and his blissful smile turned into a hurt frown. "Second? What's the first best thing you've ever felt?"

"Falling in love with you."

Sandy was filled with so much relief and joy that a single tear left his eye as he nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck. "I'd have to agree." He told her and then realized something, causing him to let out a small chuckle.

"What is it?"

"You know...back when I was being brought up as a prince...usually when nobility or royalty got married...their first time is _after_ they say their vows, and they do a consummation ceremony."

"Well, we're going to say our vows anyway." She chuckled out.

"True true." He agreed as he looked at the door and smiled. "So, who do you think is going to find us like this first?"

"I was just wondering that myself." She laughed out, and turned over to face Sandy, who propped up on his elbow and rested the side of his head in the palm of his hand, and was glad when Mage did the same. "Who do _you_ think it will be?"

"Hmm...well, North is probably smart enough to know what we just did...so not him. Besides, he would give us our privacy now that he knows we're engaged."

"Right, and Jack was brought up in the late 1600's and early 1700's so unless it's an emergency...he would knock."

"Correct. So, North and Jack are out."

"What about Bunny?"

"Oh!" Sandy laughed out so hard his stomach hurt. "That would be quite the sight! A flustered Pooka!"

"A what?"

"It's what Bunny is..." Sandy told her as he calmed down from laughing. "...very long story...I'll tell you some time. Oh...but that would be a sight...he would probably think that we're still in here talking or _actually_ going over wedding plans. So...Bunny is a possibility."

"Alright...Tooth?"

"No, she in fact is smart enough to know what we just did. Where as North is a probably."

"Okay then that leaves..." At the process of elimination, Mage busted out laughing. "The only other person that could walk in...that's still here...is Pitch!"

Sandy started busting out laughing with her until his sides hurt and tears fell from his eyes. "OH! And that would scar him for _the rest_ of his immortal life! Him walking in on me, his older brother, after I just had sex for the first time! Oh, that would be priceless! I'm kind of hoping he does now! That would be too good!"

_**oOoOoOoOoOoOo**_

Sandy had woken up when he suddenly heard the door open. _'I wonder who it is...'_ He thought with amusement, but kept his smile, or any signs that he was awake, well hidden. "Sanderson, are you seriously asleep?" Came a familiar voice, and it took everything Sandy had not to bust out laughing. _'IT'S KOZMOTIS!'_ He screamed mentally, with mental laughter resounding in his mind as he held Mage just a bit tighter, but not enough to show the movement through the blanket. He heard footsteps approaching the bed and calmed himself as much as he could. "Seriously! You need to get-" As soon as Sandy felt Pitch grab for the covers, knowing he was going to try and pull them off, he immediately propped himself up and shot an arm out to grab Pitch's wrist in a vice grip before he could move the blanket any further, and through disheveled hair, sent his younger brother a death glare.

"If you _dare_ try to uncover me and my _very_ naked and _very_ tired fiance, _you_ will be a very _dead_ brother. Am I understood?"

At his words, Pitch's eyes widened considerably as he looked down at the second lump in the bed that laid in front of Sandy, and very quickly put two and two together. Then, almost as if his hand was just burned by a scorching fire, he ripped his hand away from the blanket, allowing it to properly settle back on Mage's sleeping form. "Y-You...and h-her...the t-two of you had...you really...my older brother...with...I mean you're engaged so...but...you really...you're naked...she's naked...so...you two really..." Pitch couldn't form a coherent thought at the moment if his life depended on it. He couldn't believe it, but it was right in front of him.

"Yes, dear brother, Mage and I had sex, and I gave her my virginity. Is there a problem?" He questioned with a smirk.

"N-No I...It's just...I never though...I mean I should've guessed...it...you two are after all...but...you would've never...I...this is...you're..."

"Naked...Kozmotis. I am naked under these blankets and so is my fiance. Now..." Sandy said as he let go of Pitch's hand and gave Mage a gentle kiss on the side of her head. "...unless you want your _very_ naked older brother _chasing_ you out of the room...you _will_ let me go back to sleep, and you _will_ leave _quietly_. Am I understood?"

"I-I didn't meant to walk in...I...yes! I'm going!"

The door swung open with Pitch making a hasty retreat, and then it clicked closed. The sound stirred Mage from her sleep. "Who's there Sandy?" She asked in a sleep riddled tone.

"Oh...we were right."

"It was Pitch wasn't it?" She asked as a tired smile of amusement played at her lips.

"Yes it was."

"I wish I could've seen it."

"It was certainly something, that's for sure." He told her as he wrapped his arm around her again. "Say...when did you want to get married?"

"Would it be too soon if I said either when we wake up or tomorrow?"

Sandy's heart swelled with love, joy, and excitement. "Not at all!" He told her. "I'm sure the celebration decorations are already set up which makes it perfect, and Mother Nature or Manny could do the ceremony."

Mage grinned as she turned over to face Sandy, slightly waking up a little more. "We should have Mother Nature do it. I mean, after all, she did vouch for you at the festival...and she's Pitch's daughter. Her father just walked in on her uncle."

"HA! I would like that! I'm sure Mother Nature would love it to. So...we're getting married tomorrow?"

"Like I said...if that's not too soon..."

"Everything has been moving kind of fast for us..." Sandy trailed off with a fond smile.

"Yeah..." Mage said as she looked at him with an equally fond smile.

"Kind of like when you're dreaming. The dreams seem so short, but have really been going on for hours. I kind of like to think of it that way."

Mage leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss that made him sigh happily. "I like the way you think, love."


	21. Chapter 21

To Mage's surprise there was a pure sapphire blue dress waiting for her in Sandy's closet. The front of it held silver stars ranging from small and medium sizes, and they went down from the collar and cascaded towards her belly button. The sleeves were of a shall like material and were see through because of the fabric, making the only real sleeves on the dress, similar to tank top sleeves, but it cascaded beautifully and didn't touch the floor, and in the dresser there were sapphire blue shoes flats. After getting dressed she turned to see what Sandy was dressed in, and her eyes went wide as a pleased smile crossed her features.

Sandy was wearing a loose sapphire blue shirt similar to the one she had seen him wear in his dream, the loose sleeves disguising the perfect muscles that hid beneath. It made him looked like relaxed nobility. He also wore navy blue pants, and boots that were a darker shade than the pants. "How do I look?" He asked her as he turned around.

"Like a prince. What about me?"

"Like a queen." He smirked at her, and she blushed at the compliment. Seeing her smile, Sandy moved to the nightstand and grabbed his circlet and her tiara. "We can't forget these. Here, you put mine on me, and I'll put yours on you." Sandy handed her his circlet and smiled at her. "Okay, one, two..."

"Three." They both said together as they placed their proper crowns on their heads.

"That was nice."

"I'm glad you think so, because that is part of the ceremony. I will put your crown on you, and you will put mine on me."

"Right but uh...Sandy, if we're getting married tomorrow...how are we going to get crowns in time?"

"When you went back to sleep, I contacted Cupid. She should have them finished..." Sandy and Mage turned to the window when they heard the whirring of a portal opening. "...minute now..." He finished with a broad smile as Cupid walked through with two boxes.

When Cupid was finally all the way through, wings and all, she took a good look at Sandy and Mage, and honestly felt a twinge of jealousy for Mage, but her heart was so good and kind when she observed it, it was hard to be mad at her, and besides, they were literally perfect for each other. _'Oh my...Sandy looks like such a prince!'_ She thought to herself as she walked towards them with both boxes. "The two of you look very majestic!" Cupid told them truthfully. "I've brought what you asked for Prince Sandy, and I also told Mother Nature of your request, and she was overjoyed with it. She'll be here sometime later today. I have also taken it upon myself to explain to the Guardians and Pitch that you were getting married tomorrow, but when I mentioned you, Pitch seemed...I don't know..."

"Scarred for life?" Sandy snickered.

"Yeah, actually." Cupid said as she felt a smirk grow on her lips while her brow furrowed. "What happened?"

"Well, apparently while I was asleep...Pitch decided to come in while the both of us were still naked under the covers." For some reason, Sandy felt immense pride and satisfaction that Mage wasn't ashamed to put it so bluntly to Cupid of all people. He also crossed his arms as a smug grin appeared on his face at Cupid's reaction.

Cupid's jaw dropped almost completely and her wings stopped flying or moving for that matter and she stood in front of them in disbelief. "The two of you...had sex last night?"

"Yes." Sandy confirmed with a proud smile.

"Well, it was more of making love than _just_ having sex." Mage corrected, and her words sent a joyful warmth into Sandy's heart.

"You...wow! That was quick."

"Yeah, but that's okay." Mage told her. "So, mama Cupid...Sandy says you made us crowns?"

"Oh! I like you! I like you very much! You are my new favorite spirit!" Cupid squealed as she heard the only spirit to ever call her Mama Cupid, call her it again even after the festival. "And yes, I do. Prince Sandy gave me very specific details, and with my magic, along with my men's magic, it wasn't difficult to make either of them in the time frame." She walked over to the bed and set the boxes down. This one is yours, Princess Mage." She told her as she pulled out a silver circlet that held a sapphire gem in the middle of it, and had three curves weaving in and out of each other coming from the jewel and out to the side until it completed the half circle crown, and they had intricate etchings of stars and crescent moons.

"Wow! This is beautiful!"

"Let's see how it looks." Sandy said as he took off Mage's tiara, and then carefully placed the crown that Cupid brought on her head. He stepped back to look at her, and his heart nearly stopped, and his breath was caught in his throat.

"Sandy? Are you alright?" Mage questioned in concern.

Sandy swallowed a lump in his throat as he slowly knelt down to one knee, causing Cupid to gasp in shock, and he bowed his head. "I will never know true beauty in this or any world unless I look upon you, my queen to be. You look magnificent, and I feel blessed and honored to call you mine. You shine far brighter than any star, and if I could, I would have even the stars bow before you."

Cupid actually did swoon and had to prop herself up on the beds frame. "You have quite the man there, Princess Mage."

Mage nodded her head at Cupid before placing a hand on Sandy, urging him to stand. When he stood up, his eyes were still wide, but instead of dropped jaw, his lips curled up into an overjoyed smile. "You are truly magnificent, my love."

"Thank you, Sandy." She gave him a quick kiss before peering into Sandy's box. "This one's your's, then." She stated as she took the crown out of the box. She looked at it and noticed it was similar to her's but broader, and instead of just curves overlapping each other it seemed to be branches connecting the curves that overlapped each other, and his crown also held a sapphire jewel in the middle but it also held two more at the left and right side of the large sapphire. The jewels on the left and right were diamonds, and instead of a half circle like her's, his went all the way around. She took it to Sandy and carefully took off the circlet he was wearing, and placed the new crown on his head. She stepped back to look at him, and both her and Cupid gasped.

"What? Does it look that bad? It didn't look that great on my father but..."

"No...you look incredible. You honestly look like a king." Mage told him honestly, meanwhile, Cupid was flabbergasted by his most recent words.

"Wait, wait, wait...you mean to tell me...these are the same crowns your mother and father wore, and that you've remembered their detail for millions of years?"

"Yeah, pretty much. These are the crowns that belong to the Lord High General of the Galaxies and his wife, but no one recognizes a Lord High General of the Galaxies anymore. The only ones who would truly recognize it would be Pitch, Mother Nature, the Man in the Moon, and...Bunny." He sighed out Bunny's name.

"What's wrong with Bunny?"

"Well..." Sandy walked over to the stand up mirror and let out another sigh. "That's what I thought."

"What?" Both Cupid and Mage asked with concern.

"Well...about a year before I left, father wanted to see how his crown looked on me...and we looked exactly alike. It was almost creepy. The problem with this is...Bunny once fought along side my father. I don't think he remembers that because it's been so long, and he didn't say anything too surprising when he saw me in this form the first time...so I don't know how he'll react."

"Well, that's simple..." Mage said as she immediately left the room.

About fifteen minutes later Bunny could be heard on the other side of the door and Sandy hadn't taken the crown off yet. "What is the point of blind foldin' me, Princess?"

"Because it's a surprise...sort of." She told him as she opened the door and closed it behind him. "Alright...you can take the blind fold off now...just remember...you said you would be calm."

"Calm about wha-" Whatever Bunny was going to say completely died in his throat when he took the blind fold off and looked at Sandy. His eyes were widened in shock, and the blind fold slipped from his fingers as his jaw and his arms dropped.

"Bunny?" Sandy asked carefully, but got no response so he stepped forward, Bunny didn't move. He just continued to stare at Sandy. "Aster?" He tried with his real name, and that seemed to get Bunny's attention because he blinked several times before staggering back against the wall.

"Y-You...You c-can't be...you...you're d-dead..."

"Aster...it's me...Sandy. Remember?" Sandy questioned as he conjured a sand image of his shorter self.

"S-Sandy?" Bunny questioned as he came forward from the wall a bit. Sandy nodded and changed the dream sand into a bunny and made it hop around just a bit before retreating back into him. "You...you're really Sandy..." Another nod and Bunny ran both paws against his ears. "Stars in heaven, Sandy. You look just like him!"

"It's the crown..."

"Yeah...I can tell that now. I nearly had a heart attack. My heart actually stopped! I couldn't breathe, mate. I thought Mage had somehow found a ghost...speaking of which...where did you get his crown and..." Bunny turned to face Mage, and found himself kneeling with his head bowed.

"B-Bunny?" Mage stuttered out, and looked to Sandy for help, but he was at a loss for it as well.

"I...I didn't see ya, cause ya snuck up behind me...Princess Mage...you look every bit as regal and noble as the first Lady Pitchiner. You actually resemble her in some ways when you're wearin' that outfit, and especially with the crown. I...when I was just a kit, I met her...the first Lady Pitchiner and she was kind, sweet, noble, gentle, funny, lovable, wild, and mischievous. She was a lot like you...and I...I can't help it. Pitch was right...you are the epitome of royalty."

"Bunny...please stand." Mage requested.

Bunny did as he asked and looked at her. "I'm sorry, Princess...for reactin' that way."

"No, it's okay...I'm sorry if my appearance upset you."

Bunny blinked once and then twice. "You really are like her."

"Wait!" Sandy shouted, shaking his head. "When you were a kit...which is a baby Pooka yeah?"

"Well...it's a kid Pooka, but yeah..."

"That's when you met the first Lady Pitchiner?"

"Yeah...?"

"Bunny...do you have any idea how long my family line is?"

"Reckon I do considering I went with my Da to the ultimate grand council meeting to discuss who would be Lord High General, and then Pitchiner came up."

"Bunny...that was over ten billion years ago!"

"And your point is?"

"How old are you!? That's what I want to know! I had told Mage to try and guess our ages, and she guessed that no one knew your age, but she tried to say that I was three billion years old and I nearly died laughing! How old are you!?" Everyone in the room could tell Sandy wasn't angry, just more shocked than anything.

"You really want to know?"

"I wouldn't have asked otherwise."

Bunny scratched the back of his head nervously as he looked to the floor. "Can't really say no to ya when you're wearin' that crown of yours...well um...I am ten billion...five hundred and sixty-three million...four hundred and thirty thousand...two hundred and twenty-two years old."

"Starshine, Bunny! You're ancient!"

"Nah, really?" Bunny chuckled out fondly. "I hadn't noticed!" He laughed out. Once he calmed his laughing though, he let out a heavy sigh. "When I was old enough, I was allowed into the Pitchiner palace, and there, I met Lord and Lady Pitchiner. They treated me like family, and asked me to protect _their_ family for as long as I could...but then Pitch Black happened...and I couldn't...I failed..."

"No you didn't." Sandy chuckled out as he placed a hand on Bunny's shoulder. "I'm alive and so is Pitch, and Pitch is on the side of good now, and if you won't keep your promise with Pitch...would you at the very least keep it with me and protect _my_ family?"

"Y-Your _family!?_" Bunny immediately looked at Mage and then darted his gaze to Sandy. "Is she..."

"What? No! She's not pregnant...not yet anyway..." The last sentence made Bunny and Cupid gasp in shock, but made Mage smile. She had always wanted a family of her own someday. "Anyway...no...my family that exists now, which is you and the other Guardians, and my family to come in the future...will you protect them like you promised the first Lord and Lady Pitchiner?"

"I...wait...the way you're talkin'...and the crowns...mate...I know for a fact you could've had Cupid make any kind of crown...you got your's and her's accurate down to the etchin's...are you?"

"I am...I decided it this morning."

"You are what?" Cupid and Mage asked at the same time, feeling a bit lost.

"I'm taking back the name Pitchiner. I told Manny about it and he said it was fine, and that he was happy for me, and proud of me. He told me that everyone would still probably call me Sandy or Sandman so it was really up to me...so I decided. I will no longer be Sanderson Mansnoozie. I will return to being Sanderson Ezekiel Pitchiner."

"You know what that means right?"

"Yes, I know. It means I will be reclaiming my full title as First Prince, and then when I marry Mage tomorrow...to the spirit world I will be King Sandy...but to you, Mother Nature, Pitch, and Manny..."

"You would be Lord High General of the Galaxies...by birthright, and Mage would be your queen basically...and she would be the new Lady Pitchiner."

"M-May I ask w-why that's a big deal?" Cupid asked, feeling awe, dumbfounded, excited, and confused all at the same time.

"Because...Lord High General of the Galaxies and the name Lady Pitchiner were just titles to appease the more violent planets and there were only four, but that was four too many. Everyone else knew what the titles _really_ were."

"And what were they?" Mage asked curiously.

"King and Queen of the universe." Sandy answered shyly.

"I-I'm...marrying the first born prince...of the universe?"

"Is that a bad thing?" Sandy questioned with a hint of worry in his voice.

"No! Are you kidding me!? This is amazing and wonderful!"

"Truly?" Sandy asked with so much hope it nearly made Bunny stagger back.

"YES! This is so exciting! I'm sure I'll learn more, but I'm prepared to learn as long as I learn it with you."

"Thank you..." Sandy sighed out in relief. Then, he looked to Cupid who's butt was firmly panted on the floor. "Cupid?"

"Mama Cupid?" Mage asked and got Cupid's attention.

"I-I'm fine darling...I...Oh! I probably shouldn't call you that, I mean you'll be queen of..." Before she could finish her sentence Mage smiled and swooped down to the floor and gave her a tight hug. "Princess Mage?"

"Don't apologize for calling me darling or anything else. I want you to be you, always. You're unique, and deserve to stay that way. I didn't get that chance when I was human, and refuse to allow anyone feel like they have to be something they're not. Please be yourself, Mama Cupid." Cupid had a steady stream of tears fall as she silently wrapped her wings around Mage, which then earned shocked gasps from Bunny and Sandy. Mage turned her head to face them, and noticed their expressions. "What's wrong?"

"This...this is how some birds show their love and protection..."

"But why...?"

"Because...I don't know what it is about you...but when you called me Mama Cupid...I felt like I gained a daughter. Princess Mage...I had been Cupid for nearly a million years...and not once had someone called me Mama Cupid, and for most of that time, my name wasn't even Cupid...I can't remember it...but still...in all that time...no one called me Mama Cupid no matter how many times I referenced myself with that name or asked people to call me that...and then you say it so easily...and after everything I learned...and then you tell me to be myself...I've always been known to be the overbearing spirit...no one's ever asked me...or let me be myself..."

"Well, now you can...Mama Cupid."

"Thank you, darling." Cupid said as the wings briefly wrapped tighter around her before relaxing behind her back. "Now...we have a wedding to plan! You'll need to put your crowns back in their boxes..."

"Alright..." Sandy and Mage agreed and placed them back in the box like she asked, and couldn't wait for tomorrow.

_**oOoOoOoOoOo**_

At the wedding, Sandy had Pitch as his best man. He had asked him after putting the crowns away, and although he was completely stunned at Sandy's request, he happily accepted. Bunny gave Mother Nature and Pitch the warning of who Sandy would look like and they understood.

Mage's Made of honor was Cupid, who squealed in delight at the offer, and North was now behind his office doors with Mage who was dressed in the same white dress that she wore to the festival. It was Cupid's idea. "You look beautiful, Mage." North told her as he felt a single tear fall from his eyes.

"Awe! Don't cry North! Come on...I know we see each other like father and daughter, but..."

"But...I am happy." He told her with a wide smile. "I never thought I would have children, especially at this extremely old age. I am happy, Mage, and I am proud of you."

"Thanks North." She told him as she made a sand cloud so she could float up and hug him.

A knock on the door from Phil was the signal and with the elves playing on their trumpets, North walked her down their version of an aisle as they made their way to the Guardian symbol. When they got there, and Sandy turned around, Sandy's eyes widened and gentle tears fell from his eyes as a smile spread on his face. After North completely led her up to the 'altar' which was really the very spot the Guardian symbol rested on, he went to his place, and Mother Nature started the ceremony. She spoke of how it was good that people were brought together and that they were fortunate to have Guardians such as Mage and Sandy. Then, it came time for the vows. "Alright...Prince Sanderson, you may go first. Remember, every word you say will be bound by truth. If you say you are someone, you are that person from here on out. You requested that of me."

"I know...thank you." He told her with a grateful smile.

"Very well...if you're sure...you may say your vows."

"I, Sanderson Ezekiel Pitchiner, rightful first born son and heir to Zakaro and Elena Pitchiner, the Lord and Lady High Generals of the Galaxies, reclaim my rightful place at the throne." A bright glow shined on Sandy and Pitch was stunned speechless. Once the glow diminished Sandy could feel all of the power he had before he left and was disowned, and he felt his current powers and magic mix with it well. "Now that that is done...I, Sanderson Ezekiel Pitchiner, vow to take Magerina..." Sandy eyed North for a careful second, knowing that North was his last name and turned back to Mage with a smile. "...North..." At that he heard a slight choked sob from North. _'The man's a crier...honestly.'_ Sandy chuckled in his mind as he continued. "...as my wife and queen. I vow to love her, cherish her, protect her, and I vow to defend her hopes, wishes, and dreams. I vow to dry all of her tears. I vow to make sure she knows more good memories than bad. I vow that she will always know joy. I vow...that I will love her until my dying breath." Sandy then took Mage's tiara off her head, and replaced it with the crown he had Cupid make, and he gently placed it on her head.

With a full heart and an overjoyed smile, Mage began her vows. "I, Princess Magerina North, spirit and Guardian of Imagination, vow to take Sanderson Ezekiel Pitchiner as my husband and King. I vow to love him, cherish him, protect him, and vow to defend his hopes, wishes, and dreams. I vow to dry all of his tears. I vow to make sure he knows more good memories than bad. I vow that he will always know joy. I vow...that I will love him until my dying breath." She took off Sandy's current circlet and replaced it with the crown Cupid made and placed it on his head, quickly earning a gasp from Pitch, but they continued anyway.

"You have claimed your names, your titles, and you have said your vows. You may now kiss the bride." Mother Nature stated joyfully

Sandy wasted no time in pulling her in for a deep kiss, and only they felt the new surge of power that rushed through their veins like a waterfall, because that's what happened when the King and Queen of the universe kissed. When breathing was needed, they separated and heard the cheers from every living creature in the room. Sandy took her hands into his and looked her in the eyes. "We're on this journey together for eternity now, my love."

"For the dancing and the dreaming?" Mage asked him with a small smirk.

"For the dancing and the dreaming."

**_THE END_**


End file.
